Flashcards: Public Policy test questions

makes the laws bicameral legislature

having 2 branches

Senate - 100 (2 per state); elected every 6 years House of Rep - 435 (1 per 750,000 people per state); elected every 2 years

carries out/ enforces law consists of president, VP, and cabinet

appointed by president but can be rejected by Congress

interprets laws consists of supreme court

nominated by president, subject to senate confirmation, serve for life, there are 9 justices (one whom is chief justice)

ensures no branch becomes too powerful

can veto legislation created by congress

can confirm/ reject President's nominees

can deem laws unconstitutional

each state has an executive, legislative, and judicial branch headquartered in the state capitol

governor and cabinet

state senators and representatives

court system with highest being state supreme court

in the House of Reps but can also start in the Senate or even have 2 versions of the bill going through both the House and Senate at the same time

either sign it so it can become a law or veto it

Congress can either: change the bill to the President's liking; agree it can never pass and reject it; vote to override veto with 2/3 members vote

set of processes including at least: 1. setting of agenda 2. specification of alternatives from which a choice is to be made 3. authoritative choice among specified alternatives 4. implementation of decision

list of topics and concerns getting attention by the government and those associated with them

problem that is so pressing and it is now time for something to be done about it

administration civil servants congress/ capitol hill

list of issues and problems that people in/outside the government are interested in addressing

making many solutions to a problem

interest groups academics/research community media elections political parties public opinion

anywhere

motivation behind bills being passed

mostly block proposals that hurt their interests

communicator of ideas/processes/alternatives/agendas between different players

effect agenda rather than alternatives

1. problem identification/understanding 2. canvas for alternative ways to address the problem 3. evaluate the various alternatives (benefits > costs) 4. choose the best alternative based on above evaluation 5. implement chosen alternative 6. monitor implementation and get feedback

idea that we cannot understand (when talking about policy) everything about a problem because we don't have access to all the data about the problem to learn everything about it

policy changes occur in discrete but yet connected steps; small steps so it is not going from point A (identification) to point B (solution) -- not a straight line to a solution but instead if you go from identification to where you have a handle on addressing it that it is not a straight line it is an incremental process where small changes are made

irrational model of decision-making, which assumes that problems, solutions and participants are disconnected and exist as separate organizational streams

multiple streams that when they finally align create a window of opportunity for change; developed from the garbage can model

used to assess magnitude of a problem and make decision makers aware of changes in a problem; statistics and studies

beyond people's control; bigger than all of us (earthquakes)

might tell us to change policies that are already in place; situations like "is this policy really addressing the problem? how is it effecting other people? how was money allocated?"

programming/funding was passed it was never really solved optimism fades other problems supersede it

this is a problem of perception; the difference is subjective ex: poverty right wing thinks condition; left wing thinks problem

1. likely reaction of government officials and their staffs 2. likely reaction of nongovernmental actors: public, special interest groups, nonprofits, businesses, media 3. how will it impact/ benefit human health and ecology? 4. what are the short and long term economic costs and benefits? 5. what is the moral imperative that compels us to act? 6. is the option flexible and responsible to time pressure

it addresses a specific audience about a specific problem has a purpose related to a specific policy action represents authority accurately uses the appropriate form and is designed for use

clarity correctness conciseness credibility

alternative generation and long term solutions

agenda setting; usually constrains policies

agenda setting; decision making; command of the public attention

alternative generation; come up with ways to satisfy president and the people

longevity; expertise in dealing with interest groups; have a set relationship with congress and interest groups

legal authority; formidable publicity; blended information