Government Final

Define bureaucracy.

A bureaucracy is a group of non-elected officials that work on government policies and programs.

Short Answer (2 points) What are the pros and cons of the neoconservative foreign policy approach followed in recent decades?

A pro of neoconservative foreign policy is that it can enforce power when necessary. A con of neoconservative foreign policy is that it often leads to conflict. Another pro of neoconservative foreign policy is that it has more of an impact than other forms of foreign policy. Another con of neoconservative foreign policy is that it tends to complicate issues.

An example of a government corporation is ________.

Amtrak

Why do House members and senators tend to be less active on foreign policy matters than domestic ones?

Constituents are more directly affected by domestic policy topics than foreign ones.

Short Answer (2 points) What are some of the challenges to getting a new public policy considered and passed as law?

Developing a new public policy is a long challenging process. A new public policy has to go through years of debate and analysis between many government offices, interest groups, and the public. Thus with so many different opinions and ideas, it is difficult to create a public policy that everyone agrees with.

A sole executive agreement is likely to be in effect longer than is a treaty.

False

President George W. Bush was a proponent of liberal internationalism in his foreign policy.

False

Short Answer (2 points) Define foreign policy.

Foreign policies are the goals and strategies governments enact to deal with other countries and regions.

Short Answer (2 points) In the implementation phase of the policy process, is it better to use a top-down approach or a bottom-up approach on Federal policies? Why?

It depends on the policy. The top-down starts at the government and then goes to the policy, and then to the people. The bottom-up approach starts with the people and then goes to the policy, and the government.

The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 created the Office of Personnel Management and the ________.

Merit Systems Protection Board

The Civil Service Commission was created by the ________.

Pendleton Act of 1883

Short Answer (2 points) What societal ills are social welfare programs designed to address?

Social welfare programs are designed to keep citizens out of poverty and keep the country away from a depression that could, in turn, have a negative impact on democracy. The social welfare programs directly address retirement, disability payout, and poverty.

Briefly explain why government might create a government corporation.

The government may create a government corporation to maintain a service that the government thinks the country needs. Amtrack is an example of a government corporation that was created to maintain a service. After the boom of the automobile in the 1950s and 1960s passenger railway transportation declined significantly. Thus the government created Amtrack to maintain the passenger railway service.

Short Answer (2 points) Which types of foreign policy outputs have more impact, broadly conceived ones or sharply focused ones? Why?

The impact a foreign policy has is relative. Meaning a sharply focused foreign policy may have more of an impact on its particular issue. However, not all foreign policy can be sharply focused. Foreign policy is very complex and deals with a multitude of different factors. Thus broadly conceived foreign policy can have just as big of an impact as sharply focused foreign policy, it will just take longer to get results. So which type of foreign policy has more of an impact depends on the issues.

Why are foreign policy issues more complicated than domestic policy issues?

The international environment is unpredictable.

Briefly explain the benefits and drawbacks of a merit system.

The main benefit of the merit system is that it attempts to ensure that the best candidate for the position is the one that gets the position. A drawback of the merit system is that it doesn't always work as intended and sometimes the wrong person is chosen for a position.

Short Answer (2 points) What are two key differences between domestic policymaking and foreign policymaking?

The two key differences between domestic policymaking and foreign policymaking are that domestic policymaking is internal to the United States and foreign policymaking is external to the United States. Meaning domestic policymaking pertains to the goals and issues within the United States. While foreign policymaking pertains to the goals and strategies outside of the United States.

Briefly explain the underlying reason for the emergence of the spoils system.

The underlying reason for the emergence of the spoils system was party loyalty. The winners of elections would reward their party supporters by appointing them to bureaucratic positions.

Briefly explain the advantages of negotiated rulemaking.

There are many advantages of negotiated rulemaking. The main benefit is that in negotiated rulemaking there are neutral advisors who help the two sides come to a consensus. The advisors make procedures that ensure the rulemaking process is fair and runs smoothly.

Libertarians are people who believe that government almost always operates less efficiently than the private sector and that its actions should be kept to a minimum.

True

Red tape is the mechanisms, procedures, and rules that must be followed to get something done.

True

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scores the spending or revenue impact of all proposed legislation to assess its net effect on the budget.

True

The safety net is a way to provide for members of society experiencing economic hardship.

True

Short Answer (2 points) When times are tough economically, what can the government do to get the economy moving again?

When times are tough economically the government can create more jobs to get the economy moving again.

Which stage of the public policy process includes identification of problems in need of fixing?

agenda setting

The goals of U.S. foreign policy include ________.

all answers are correct

Which describes the ideal bureaucracy according to Max Weber?

an apolitical, hierarchically organized agency

Which of the following is not a foreign policy type?

bureaucratic oversight

The U.S. policy of containment during the Cold War related to keeping ________.

communism from spreading

Neoconservativism is an isolationist foreign policy approach of a nation keeping to itself and engaging less internationally.

false

Entitlement (or mandatory) spending is ________.

formula-based spending that goes to individual citizens

During George Washington's administration, there were ________ cabinet positions.

four

All the following are examples of sharply focused foreign policy outputs except ________.

international agreements

The use of drones within other countries' borders is consistent with which school of thought?

neoconservatism

Which of the following is not an example of a public policy outcome?

none of the above; all are public policy outcomes.

The Freedom of Information Act of 1966 helps citizens exercise oversight over the bureaucracy by ________.

opening government records to citizen scrutiny

The "spoils system" allocated political appointments on the basis of ________.

party loyalty

Which type of policy directly benefits the most citizens?

regulatory policy

Public policy ________.

requires multiple actors and branches to carry out

The War Powers Resolution ________.

strengthened presidential war powers

The "spoils system" allocated political appointments on the basis of ________.

the 1930s and the 1960s

Which of the following models of bureaucracy best accounts for the way bureaucracies tend to push Congress for more funding each year?

the acquisitive model

A deficit is ________.

the annual budget shortfall between revenues and expenditures

The federal budget process matters in foreign policy for all the following reasons except ________.

the budget for every presidential action has to be approved in advance

Social Security and Medicare are notable for their assistance to which group?

the elderly

In terms of formal powers in the realm of foreign policy, ________.

the president and Congress share power

Toll goods differ from public goods in that ________.

they require the payment of a fee up front

When reformers speak of bureaucratic privatization, they mean all the following processes except ________.

whistleblowing