pbpl002 final

How policies can strengthen and weaken interest groups

(1) providing new benefits and/or financing, (2) organizing niches, and (3) access to government officials. Strengthen: If governments provide funding for planned parenthood, they create benefits for people who use those services, financing for the organization, a niche for organizing around women's health and reproductive issues and access to government officials engaged in these issues. Once investments are made, they create communities with expectations of government and the resources to pursue their interests by rewarding politicians who are supportive.

7)Decide! 8) Tell your story

- Final decision of solution for the problem based on analysis of evidence, criteria, alternatives, possibilities and tradeoffs - Redefining your problem, reconceptualizing your alternatives, reconsidering your criteria, reassessing your projections, reevaluating the trade-offs - you are ready to tell your story/ present

Resources of the President, the Congress, and key policy staff members, according to KINGDON

- RESOURCES of the president: Allocated huge staff resources, Nominal control over all agencies of government, Power of appointment and power to replace those who are not loyal, The executive is more unitary than Congress( congress is divided by party, sectional, ideological interests) and Command of public attention. -The President can veto any legislation with which he or she disagrees, requiring a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress to override. "The President is able to dominate agenda-setting but not alternatives or the final outcome." -Presidents have a number of ways of circumventing or potentially blunting the power of Congress, some examples: Executive Orders, Declaration of Emergency Powers, etc. - RESOURCES of Staff Influence: Longevity - they can wait out political appointees,Expertise, Relationships with people in Congress and in the interest groups, they have access to reports(leaking). - RESOURCES of Congress People: Legal authority, Publicity orchestration, Blended information, Longevity.

Most important actors in AGENDA-SETTING, according to JOHN KINGDON Relation to the visible and the hidden clusters of influence.

- The most important actors in agenda setting is the president, the staff of the executive office, political appointees, career civil servants, congress people and congressional committee staff. - They are important because they have resources like political power( president can replace those who are not loyal) and expertise. - Congressional staff have influence on the development of alternatives for issues that committee members (especially chairs) care about. - Agenda setting is affected by the visible cluster and alternatives are developed most often in the hidden cluster. - The Visible Cluster: The Presidents and High-Level Appointees and Members of Congress, the media and election-oriented organizations like parties and campaigns. They receive a lot of press and public attention. - Career Civil Servants are not particularly important in agenda setting, but they have more impact on alternatives and still more on implementation. Their resources include their longevity, their expertise and their relationships with interest groups and with Capitol Hill. VISIBLE: PRESIDENT, CONGRESS, MEDIA, PARTIES / CAMPAIGN (AFFECTS AGENDA-SETTING)

Commensurability

- trade-offs using a common metric( comparable) - creating the capacity to compare dissimilar outcomes. It is part of projecting outcomes. - The easiest way to create commensurability is to attempt to price everything. - In some cases, commensurability in tradeoffs may be impossible to achieve. EX: How do you compare the value of lives saved against the cost of life-saving equipment in a hospital? They seem incommensurable. Bardach's example of political redistricting: EX: The alternative might have been no representation for African Americans in these southern states. However, redistricting in this way potentially violates the principle of equality and also creates many non-competitive districts in which African Americans might be competitive with strong candidates.

Reasons for the power of the National Rifle Association.

-A real grassroots: NRA members do not just have intense feelings; they actually do things. They give money, write representatives, participate in demonstrations. Unlike many mailing list organizations, the NRA has an active grassroots. -Moderate politicians fears: As the GOP has moved to the right, more moderate members fear being contested in a primary. An active, aggressive, and responsive membership organization represents a significant threat. -A structure that mirrors the gov't: NRA can mobilize at all levels of government. Its structure mirrors the federal structure of government. -A focus of social life for members: NRA offers incentives to members: discounts, magazines, even wine club memberships. Plus the feeling of righteousness in working for a cause. People associate with one another, see themselves as being the "true Americans," and have strong feelings of solidarity.

Interest groups

-Advocacy groups who use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. -They play an important role in the development of political and social systems. EXAMPLES of interest groups include: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) American Association of Retired People (AARP) U.S. Chamber of Commerce American Federation of Labor (AFL) National Rifle Association (NRA)

2)Assemble Some Evidence

-Assembling data takes much more time than thinking about definitions and alternatives. Therefore, it is important to think constantly about whether the data you are collecting are WORTH having. -Because of time pressures, you cannot assemble all relevant data. -Be wary about research produced by advocacy groups. -Make sure you touch base with those who are/will be affected to see what they make of the data you have assembled.

Backward mapping, pre-implementation consultation, and implementation plans as methods to improve implementation.

-Backward Mapping: Backward mapping starts with the target group and looks at the objectives from the point of view of each of the actors as one moves back up the chain of implementation. ex: Start with homeowners and businesses, Next look at the implementing agencies (water district, city manager, city council),Finally look at the draft statute -Pre-implementation Consultation: Reaching out to parties involved in implementation to understand their concerns and to gain their commitment ex:Find out their objections, if any, Find out what they are excited about and what they are concerned about Find out if they need incentives to be involved. -Implementation Plans: Detailed plan of responsible parties, timelines, and accountability mechanisms ex: The action required, The person(s) responsible for the action, What is required of the responsible person

Most important actors in IDENTIFYING ALTERNATIVES, according to Kingdon. Relation to the visible and the hidden cluster of influence.

-Congressional staff have influence on the development of alternatives for issues that committee members (especially chairs) care about. -Generating alternatives are the province of people who are more expert than politicians generally are. Politicians are good at attention-getting but they don't have the time (or usually the interest) in getting immersed in issues! -Executive staffers in the Office of Management and the Budget or the Domestic Council are always important for working on alternatives HIDDEN: ACADEMICS, RESEARCHERS, CAREER BUREAUCRATS, CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS, ADMINISTRATION (AFFECTS ALTERNATIVES)

4)Select the Criteria

-Definition of a Criterion: A basis for judging the impact of an action, for our purposes, the impact of a public policy. Example: Graduation rates of students from under-privileged backgrounds can be a criterion used to judge the effectiveness of undergraduate education. So can graduate school admissions -Several criteria may be relevant to any given public policy. Example: More police might lead to crime reduction, but that might also lead to an overconcentration on policing poor communities, eroding trust between those communities and the police. -Trust can be a criterion. Other possible criteria: Practical(legality), "conservative" values (free markets,freedom,capitalism), "liberal" values (equality, free speech)

1) Define the problem

-Don't include the solution in the problem definition. Example:We need to build more schools because of pressures on school space. -Be wary of too easy acceptance of causal CLAIMS implicit in the problem definition. - know the problem and all possible causes b4 siding w one in the definition Example: We have an opioid crisis caused by profit-seeking drug companies.

3)Construct the Alternatives

-Err on the side of producing many alternatives. Make a list of all possible alternatives. Brainstorm to put everything on the table. -Look around to see what others who have dealt with the issue have done. -At some point you will be removing some alternatives, combining others, and rethinking whether you have them all. Another iterative process. -One alternative could be let present trends continue. Begin presenting alternatives when they are neither too rough nor too polished

Be able to define and give an example of issue framing

-Framing is the creation of a powerful image for a policy position, one that will resonate with voters and/or decision-makers. The image can be highly appealing to build support or highly unappealing to reduce support. - Framing tends to work on word and image associations connected to emotional responses. EX: Tax relief, Family-friendly policies, Common-sense gun control in 2016 election ex: "Crooked Hilary," "rapists and drug dealers pouring over the border"

Pluralist theory

-Interest groups struggle with another in areas in which they have a stake. -Focus on all public policy decisions. Decision-based approach from case studies -To the extent that the majority rules, it rules through organized interests. -Interest groups engaged only in issues that bear on their sector or sphere of interest and their influence is limited to these issues. -The political parties can be characterized by the organized interests they represent. Partisan(strong supporter) struggle is a struggle of organized interests. - Those who are not organized in interest groups are powerless. Division between "mass pluralism" and "elite-biased pluralism" Mass Pluralism: Net Balance between groups favoring and opposing a policy

Causes of the opening of policy windows, according to KINGDON

-Predictable Openings: Renewals of acts or programs, budget appropriation mark-ups, forming of task forces to study problems -Times of Personnel Change: Newly elected officials, turnover of political actors, new committee chairs -Precipitating Events: Events that galvanize national attention - airplane crashes, school shootings, Bill Cosby's accusers. Kingdon mentions long lines at gasoline stations during the OPEC oil embargo. -Issues of Least Disagreement: In some cases, political actors find that they can get key actors on board for some policy discussions but not others. Example of aviation vs. trucking de-regulation. -Change usually comes from the problem or political stream, not from the policy stream. but "The probability that an issue will rise on the decision agenda is dramatically increased if all three elements - problem, proposal, and political receptivity - are coupled in a single package." Framing = The process of connecting policies with categories that have broad public appeal. SPILLOVER: INSTANCES WHEN SUCCESS IN TARGET AREA LEADS TO POLICY MOVEMENTS IN RELATED AREAS thus resulting in opening policy windows

Visibility and traceability as influences on whether policies create politics

-The visibility of policies make a difference in whether they create politics. Indirect taxes that are collected by intermediaries (such as the sales tax) typically create less backlash among tax payers than direct taxes (such as the property tax or the income tax). Government is less visible as the ultimate beneficiary of the tax. - The traceability of the policy also makes a difference. The more complex the policy the less likely voters will trace their problems to government decisions. Long chains between government and voters reduce traceability. Government regulation of electricity markets is a good example of an untraceable policy. Government regulation affects electrical companies and traders and complex pricing policies and incentives for reduced usage create further complexity.

Organization of the Koch Network

-conservative activist billionaires who contribute to groups associated with an "ultra-right free market agenda" including deregulation of industry, tax cuts for the wealthy, opposition to all extensions of public spending and efforts to defund existing social programs. - Koch seminars for up to 500 people twice-yearly Guests must pledge at least $100,000 to Koch political endeavors. -Exclusive focus on economic and social policy issues. -Ignore divisive social issues such as abortion and immigration. -Those in the network are highly cohesive in ideology. -Focus on a few organizations within the Koch orbit. Like a miltiary campaign. -Provides a growing share of resources backing the GOP agenda. -the Koch Brothers recruit donors from throughout the country -Most are entrepreneurs or CEOs who have built companies and have reason to oppose government regulation and taxation of wealth. Americans for Prosperity(AFP) - most important koch organizations -entwined with GOP at all levels -promotes tax cuts, blocking and eliminating business regulations, opposing healthcare reform, etc. mega-donor

2nd and 3rd faces of power, according to STEVEN LUKES

-forms of power that are outside of observable legislation. Some organizations are so powerful that certain issues never make it to the public agenda. -2nd face-the power to keep issues off the agenda and non decision making. ex: u.s steel able to keep effective policy for keeping clean air off the agenda. Lobbying that can occur, etc. -3rd-there are some organizations that have so much power, certain ideas are not able to become apparent issues. Ex: Women's rights for the last 20 years and how they've been suppressed. Women had no idea that they had so much power for addressing sexual harassment.

Private issue

-individual -affects one person -private companies? Example: Institutions, organizations, and privately held companies all establish their own internal policies related to environmental stewardship and energy use -A personal problem (private issue) becomes a public issue when it comes to be a structural characteristic of the society Example: when a person is unemployed, is a personal problem, but when 20% percent of the population is unemployed it becomes public

beliefs and values

-it's a judgment about what's right and wrong -moral component when compared to cognitive understandings ex: the debate about abortion between pro-choice and pro-life communities- both strong moral belief about rightness

Organization of Democracy Alliance

-liberal-progressive millionaires and billionaires who contribute to groups associated with a wide variety of progressive non-profit organizations involving efforts to reduce inequality, protect the environment, support minorities and immigrants, and preserve reproductive rights. -It includes more than 100 left-leaning wealth liberals who meet twice a year and channel money to organizations that operate on the left edge of the Democratic Party. -DA partners pay $30,000 annually in dues and pledge donations to DA-recommended or approved organizations that total at least $200,000 each year. - DA has no "unifying political strategy" like koch - wide variety of groups -not intertwined w democrats -not as focused on certain issues like koch mega donor - Members are mainly located on the East or West coasts. Quite a few are not entrepreneurs or CEOs, but rather people who have inherited money.

Policy analysis

-requires the perception of a problem that can be addressed by government (often in connection with business, community groups, and other entities) -It requires the will of elected officials to address the problem. -It requires the search for the best way for government (and others) to address the problem. That search for the best way to approach problems is the focus of policy analysis.

Populism

-sees a corrupt elite using its power against the interests of "the people" and argues that "the people" need to take power back from the corrupt elite. -RIGHT populists is a protest against both "corrupt elites" and those at or near the bottom of society who are seen as threats to the well-being of the "hard-working majority wants: PROTECTIONISM IN TRADE, INCLUDING TARIFFS SEVERE RESTRICTIONS ON IMMIGRATION WITHDRAWAL FROM INTERNATIONAL TREATIES THAT DO NOT SERVE NATIONAL INTERESTS REDUCTION OF GOVERNMENT AID TO STATE DEPENDENTS TO REDUCE TAX BURDEN EXPOSURE OF THE CORRUPT PRACTICES OF "LIBERAL ELITES" -LEFT populist is a protest against "corrupt elites" only and embraces a pluralistic, egalitarian society, including immigrants and the poor. wants: 1) PROTECTIONISM IN TRADE IN THE INTERESTS OF AMERICAN WORKERS 2) REDUCTION OF INEQUALITY THROUGH TAXATION OF THE WEALTHY 3) ROBUST WELFARE STATE (MEDICARE FOR ALL, FREE COLLEGE, "GREEN NEW DEAL," ETC.) FUNDED BY TAXES ON THE WEALTHY 4) EXPOSURE OF THE CORRUPT PRACTICES OF "BUSINESS ELITES"

Big-money networks

-the theory that certain groups have power over political influence. Ex: elites, groups that bring together large donors and pool in money to support organizations of that network. -networks of wealthy people who want to influence policy, meet together annually and are required to donate to identified causes. The Koch Network and Democracy Alliance are two examples.

Steps in EUGENE BARDACH'S 8-fold Path

1)Define the Problem 2)Assemble Some Evidence 3)Construct the Alternatives 4)Select the Criteria 5)Project the Outcomes 6)Confront the Tradeoffs 7)Decide! 8)Tell Your Story

How does Policy analysis contribute to politics?

1)by channeling conflict 2)by building community -Policy analysis channels CONFLICT by showing that some arguments are better and deserve to win. -It builds community by invoking rules and conventions of rational discourse so that opponents can EMPLOY analytical procedures to resolve disagreements

Reasons why comprehensive immigration reform failed and whether and why the policy window is currently closed or open.

2007 Comprehensive Reform: Dream Act. Legal right to remain with a visa. 2013 Gang of Eight Bill: Legal permanent residence. Remove country green quotas. Both increased enforcement at borders. Gang of eight failed due to: -fear that whites were in danger of losing out in some way to immigrants from south of the border. -In a poll, 82% of very conservative Republicans said they felt "anxious" or "fearful" of 'illegal aliens.' -GOP is 89% white and 97% of GOP districts have white majorities. Small shifts in immigrant populations often lead to large anxieties in these districts. -Claim that the Senate bill amounted to "amnesty" and rewarded lawlessness. Policy window closed due to the political stream bc neglects the coming together of coalitions that allow for solutions to be adopted. Cause: divided political parties Four types of immigration statuses: PERMANENT, TEMPORARY, DISCRETIONARY(exercised at one's own discretion), UNDOCUMENTED

Policy entrepreneurs

ADVOCATES WHO ARE WILLING TO INVEST THEIR RESOURCES - TIME, ENERGY, REPUTATION, MONEY - TO PROMOTE A POSITION IN RETURN FOR ANTICIPATED FUTURE GAIN IN THE FORM OF MATERIAL, PURPOSIVE, OR SOLIDARY BENEFITS. IMPORTANCE: THEY LINK THE 3 STREAMS TOGETHER - Policy entrepreneurs know that it is important to strike while issues are heating up. - qualities include: persistence, known for political connections or negotiating skill, hearing claim. This claim can be based on expertise, an ability to speak for others (as in case of an interest group leader), or as an authoritative decision-maker.

Policy regimes

ASSUMPTIONS AND DOMINANT POLITICAL COALITION(group formed toward a common goal) THAT GOVERNS THE GENERAL DIRECTION OF PUBLIC POLICY REGARDLESS OF THE PARTY IN POWER The key is that the parties broadly subscribe to a similar set of assumptions about the proper direction of policy.

Projection of outcomes

Analysts should project at least 3 outcomes: (1) Optimal - if everything goes as planned; (2) Mid-Range - Some costs are higher than expected and some benefits lower; (3) Worst-case - Costs are much higher than expected and/or Benefits are much lower than expected. "Rosy scenarios" is a common failing of policy analysis in the projection of outcomes. - politicians like to sell policies by projecting the most positive possible outcomes

Externalities

Benefits or costs that people do not pay for in market exchanges

Be able to discuss the causes of climate change and at least three potential high-impact solutions to it.

Causes of climate change: As more greenhouse gases are caught in the atmosphere, temperatures rise on earth, creating conditions for more severe wildfires and erosion of arable land. Moisture from the warming oceans also seeds precipitation leading to extreme rain events. In 1959, the physicist Edward Teller described what could happen to Earth if CO2 emissions were not controlled. Causes: CO2 Emissions as well as methane emissions (broadly it's an increase in greenhouse gases) Solutions #1 CERTAIN CHEMICALS REFRIGERATORS USE (CFCS & HCFC) Phasing out hydrofluorocarbons as refrigerants with natural refrigerants such as propane and ammonia. Also careful removal and storage to reuse and transform refrigerants into other chemicals that do not cause warming. #2 Building more off shore wind turbines Investment in energy storage, transmission infrastructure, and distributed generation is essential. An increase in onshore wind from 3 to 4 percent of world electricity to approx. 20 percent could result in greenhouse gas reduction by 84.6 gigatons. #3 Reducing food waste Low-income countries lack infrastructure for storage, processing, and transportation. High-income countries need to reallocate unwanted food. If the world meets UN goals for reducing food waste, we could see greenhouse gas reduction by 70.5 gigatons.

Cognitive understandings

Cognition refers to understandings about how some feature of reality works. ex: 2+2=4 is a cognition.

5)Project the Outcomes

Data-based estimation of how different policy alternatives will affect both positive and negative outcomes -Projecting the outcomes simply means estimating the impact of the policy analyst recommends. -it is based on the criteria you use for evaluation. - Bardach does not ask for extremely accurate projections. Instead, he says an appropriate standard is whether the REALISTICALLY EXPECTED results are better than less disciplined guesswork. - A good approach, he says, is to look at break-even estimates. -Justifications through the projection of outcomes EX: A policy to reduce the incarceration of juveniles is under consideration and costs $1 m. What level of success would it need to have to justify spending $1 m.

Efficiency and equity as criteria for choosing among alternatives

Efficiency: The most common criteria used to evaluate public policy. - maximization of net benefits (benefits - costs) -- or expected benefit minus expected cost. Equity: How fair something is distributed is a cost or benefit( like state income tax). -Is it equal to everyone? Low-income? EX: A new tax policy may be efficient in terms of the person power and salaries required to collect the taxes but fall inequitably on those with fewer resources. Example: lotteries vs. state income tax.

Doug McAdam when social movements are most likely to be successful. Application to a contemporary social movement.

Example through the civil rights movement: 1) Organizational Development: McAdam traces the growth of three organizations representing black Americans: (1) Black churches, (2) Black college enrollments, and (3) Civil Rights organizations. 2)Political opportunity: The competition for black votes in the tight elections of the 1950s and 1960. The perceived need to solve the race problem as the U.S. was attempting to bring postcolonial developing countries into its orbit. 3)Cognitive liberation: work of organizational leaders who preached a message of black activism and empowerment and created a willingness to fight for civil rights rather than to passively accept segregation. ex: MLK Resulted in a period of insurgency which included sit ins, jail ins, freedom rides. Role of external support in social movements: EXTERNAL SUPPORT IS A PRODUCT OF INSURGENCY Insurgency=External support Insurgency: rebellion against authority Contemporary social movement: -#Metoo movement- movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault. organizational development: famous actresses on social media encouraged many to follow with hashtag community based action. viral #metoo hashtag political opportunity: Anna North stated that #MeToo should be addressed as a labor issue due to the economic disadvantages to reporting harassment. with the hashtag it helped in highlighting the breadth and impact of a sexual violence worldwide. cognitive liberation: tarana burke on myspace(2006), Alyssa milano on twitter(2017) -As the 'me too' movement affirms empowerment through empathy and community-based action, the work is survivor-led and specific to the needs of different communities

Public issue

Issues that cannot be properly priced on a market, have positive or negative externalities, and/or are non-excludable Why have public issue? - Cost for private businesses to undertake the activity is prohibitive given uncertainties in the demand for the good. Example: Mass transit. - Provision of a good or service has positive or negative externalities (benefits or costs) that are not properly priced on the market. Examples: Green space in a city; polluting firms. -Provision of the service is non-excludable (no one can be excluded from the benefit or cost). Examples: National Defense

How do politicians create powerful narratives.

Metaphors Example: regulations that are strangling business Synecdoche Example: terrorist to represent islam Loaded images Example: racists and drug dealers pouring over the border

Be able to give an example of policy creating politics.

Most notable: ROE V. WADE (SUPREME COURT DECISION OF 1973) The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the U.S 1973. This lead to a march for life by anti-abortion activists. -For pro-choice women to achieve their goals of being treated equally in the labor market, they must that motherhood is not a primary, inevitable, or 'natural' role for all women. tariffs "In both cases the policy - a tariff - has altered the political power of various actors, which will in turn shape the policy-making landscape going forward." - Recently Trump and china had a imposing tax war by raising tariffs on imports from both sides Democrats have been largely supportive of the tariffs on China on the grounds that something needs to be done to help industries decimated by Chinese competition, even if goods will cost more as a result. This is tariffs policy creating politics. (This is one way that policy creates politics, by creating constituencies in favor of the policy.) So consumers could in theory become an anti-tariff constituency, but they may not because of issues of visibility and traceability.

Mega-donor networks Para-party organizations

Organized networks of very wealthy donors who are organized and united in efforts to influence public policy Organizations that are closely allied both to grassroots voters and political parties

policy implementation

PROCESS BY WHICH A STATUTE BECOMES A REALITY THROUGH THE ACTIONS OF THOSE CHARGED WITH CHANGING BEHAVIORS

Policy windows and the three streams that produce them, according to KINGDON

Policy windows: period of time when policies get adopted. The three streams are disconnected; they do not happen in sequence. Many ideas are held in check by advocates until the time is ripe and they can attach themselves to a promising problem. JOHN KINGDON DISCUSSES POLICY WINDOWS AS THE COMING TOGETHER OF PROBLEM STREAMS, POLICY STREAMS, AND POLITICAL STREAMS. 1) PROBLEM STREAM: EMERGENCE OF A PUBLIC ISSUE THAT IS DEFINED AS A PROBLEM THAT REQUIRES SOLUTION 2) POLICY STREAM: POLICY STREAM IS THE SET OF ANSWERS AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS THAT ARISE 3) POLITICAL STREAM: COMING TOGETHER OF COALITIONS THAT ALLOW FOR SOLUTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED AND ADOPT

Power, Authority, Influence

Power: capacity of an actor making someone comply even against resistance based on status, resources, threats Authority: legitimized power Influence: having resources to affect decision Capacity to affect a decision depends on using the instruments of influence. status, resources, bargaining/negotiation, and skill at play.

Be able to relate to SABATIER and MAZMANIAN'S framework to the Oakland public works case study of JEFFERY PRESSMAN and AARON WILDAVSKY

Pressman & Wildasky case study of public works programs aimed at increasing minority hiring in Oakland which makes it go wrong with the implementation -Oakland study had no hierarchy of importance for the objectives presented -there were many veto/clearance points needed for implementation -at one point there were like 3 or 4 different organizations deciding on one aspect of the policy -there were insufficient financial resources for the buildings -Insufficient Legal Authority -Departure of Committed Staff -Problems in the Political Environment - Faulty Causal Theory OVERALL THIS WAS A FLAWED CASUAL THEORY (cause & effect) b/c of failing to connect inputs & outputs.

Social movement organizations

Protest groups whose members would normally be excluded from the policy making apparatus -Not the most important actors -But we should not ignore social movements, because some of the most important social changes in American society, including policies that fostered those changes, are closely connected to social movements.

Be able to argue whether the U.S. is moving from a neoliberal to a nationalist-populist policy regime, including discussion of JOHN JUDIS analysis

Structural trends towards populist-nationalism -Continuing hard times for manufacturing industries ( most trade w China) -Other inegalitarian economic changes (such as proportion of wealth going to top 1 percent, rise of the gig economy) -Large scale immigrations Converging "crises" -Financial crash and Great Recession of 2008 increase economic insecurity. (after this the people began to question elected officials) -Incapacity of U.S. to control unauthorized immigration and refugee crisis in Europe increase cultural insecurity. -Wave of terror attacks increase physical insecurity (mainly in Europe). -Infiltration of social media by misinformation and disinformation with little regulation increases scapegoating and polarization. - According to Judis, Immigrants aren't helping. Incapacity of the U.S. to control unauthorized immigration and refugee crisis in Europe increase cultural insecurity. - His analysis emphasizes how Trump is a populist due to the way he wants to restrict the US w the border and wall he mentions immigrants sucking jobs out of America moving towards populist nationalism bc of Trump Implications of populist-nationalism: (basically hella intense demands) HEIGHTENED ELECTORAL DEMAND FOR NATIONALIST TRADE POLICY. HEIGHTENED ELECTORAL DEMAND FOR NATIONALIST FOREIGN POLICY. HEIGHTENED ELECTORAL DEMAND, ON THE RIGHT, FOR RESTRICTIVE IMMIGRATION POLICY. HEIGHTENED ELECTORAL DEMAND, ON THE LEFT, FOR REDISTRIBUTIVE POLICIES. HEIGHTENED INTRA-PARTY TENSIONS

How serious is the college student debt problem and what are solutions to it?

Student debt is the second largest debt second to homeowner debt Increasing costs of college explain only about one-third of the change in borrowing levels. Solutions: Control college costs State reinvestment Reform financial aid Income -contingent loan repayment -"Free college" -Higher levels of federal and state aid for qualified students who cannot afford to go to college

Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page's findings on the most important influences on policy. Relation to elite bias in policy making.

Testing theories: Majoritarianism: What does the 50th Percentile voter want? Economic Elite Domination: What does the 90th Percentile voter want? Mass Pluralism: Net Balance between groups favoring and opposing a policy Elite-Biased Pluralism: Net Balance between (approx.) top 30 power groups. 1) economic elites and (2) organized business interests have the most influence over policy but no one gets their way all of the time. ELITE BIASED PLURALISM: Groups with these resources, this persistence, and this expertise are mainly industry groups or larger-scale business associations like the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Negative criticisms of elite-biased pluralism: NO REPRESENTATION FOR THE POOR OR AVERAGE WORKER Net Balance between (approx.) top 30 power groups.

Democratic Majoritarianism

The Majority Rules. - Elected officials are representatives of the people and the will of the majority should be reflected in their decisions. - challenged by elite and pluralist theory What does the 50th Percentile voter want?

The Green New Deal vs. The Drawdown Project. Which fits BARDACH'S model better?

The drawdown project: -The goal of the project was identify, measure, and model 100 substantive solutions to the climate change problem to see how much could be accomplished in 3 decades, given the sense of urgency required. -Drawdown is the point at which the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere begin to decline. S&M model better fits Bardach New deal: 1) EXPANSION OF SOCIAL SAFETY NET TO HELP THOSE IN NEED OF AID OR IN NEED OF OPPORTUNITY 2) BUSINESS REGULATION "IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST" 3) RACIAL DESEGREGATION 4) SUPPORT FOR TRADE UNIONS 5) PUBLIC POLICY INFLUENCED BY EQUITY PRINCIPLES

Examples of policy tradeoffs

The most common tradeoff is; (1) money vs. (2) a good or service that is valuable to a population. Example: If you keep a library open for more hours (a good for the community) the cost could be high. Is it worth it? Another common tradeoff is (1) privately-borne costs vs. (2) social benefit. Example: Required installation of air pollution abatement equipment in cars. essentially: How much benefit are you getting for the amount of resources being put in.

Be able to discuss tractability, statute quality, and the political environment as influences on implementation according to PAUL SABATIER and DAVID MAZMANIAN

Tractability: HOW EASY IT IS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM ADDRESSED IN STATUTE. How easy is it to address the problem? - the smaller the target group the better - the smaller the extent of behavioral change required, the better Statute Quality: CHARACTERISTICS OF A STATUTE THAT DO OR DO NOT FACILITATE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION - statutes have capacity to structure the implementation process or they may fail to do so - policy objectives must be clear and precise in stating the importance of objectives - Provide inducements and sanctions for compliance. - causal theory should be adequate - limit veto/clearance points - supply financial and legal resources to implement Variation in Political Environment: - outputs of implementing agencies are essentially a function of interaction between statute quality and political process -the more media attention the better -important to maintain a coalition in favor of the policy there must be commitment from implementing officials and a high perception of seriousness towards the policy Veto/ clearance points: NUMBER OF STEPS FROM LEGISLATION TO STREET-LEVEL IMPLEMENTERS (ordinary ppl) Sanction: ANY PENALTY THAT DISCOURAGES INACTION OR NON-APPROVED ACTIONS

6)Confront the Tradeoffs

Tradeoffs: The sacrifice expected between two (or more) values if a given policy is adopted - Different alternatives may have different virtues and vices. - The analyst has to think through what be achieved in each alternative and what the most important achievement would be. - In some cases, one alternative is better across the board. Bardach refers to this as alternative "dominance." How much benefit are you getting for the amount of resources being put in.

Garbage-can theory of decision making

WHEN PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS ARE THROWN TOGETHER IN A MESSY CHAOS AND COME TOGETHER ONLY WHEN A CHOICE OPPORTUNITY ARISES. -Kingdon says there are policy entrepreneurs that have solutions for certain problems. Ex: If there are concerns about certain public issues like climate change, people who are advocates for this agenda will use this problem to propose a solution.

Is gun control legislation possible under the Second Amendment, according to the HELLER decision.

Yes gun control is possible people thought gun legislation was not possible under Heller but in fact Heller anticipates that a wide variety of regulations are presumptively lawful these regulations include: -felons and the mentally ill are banned from owning guns -there are also restrictions on guns in schools and government buildings -Commercial sales qualifications for purchase IN 2008, IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA V. HELLER, THE U.S. SUPREME COURT RULED THAT WASHINGTON, DC'S PROHIBITION ON HANDGUNS AND REQUIREMENT THAT LONG GUNS IN THE HOME BE KEPT INOPERABLE AT ALL TIMES VIOLATED THE SECOND AMENDMENT OF THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

Purity and danger (MARY DOUGLAS)

a basic opposition(resistance) used in framing policies and candidates Certain oppositions exist in politics that create a sense of "purity" or "danger." For example: strong-weak; stable-unstable; law-abiding-unlawful; resolute-wavering; confident-anxious The Daisy girl Ad: The Democrats have been able to plant the seeds in the public mind that Goldwater was reckless and unstable.

policy enactment

approval for implementation e.g. passing a bill

Reasons why free college is a good or bad idea, discussing METTLER and BRINT including discussion of whether college is a public or a private good

bad idea: -Approx. half of cost of college (living costs) is not affected -No one knows if identified revenue streams are sustainable, -Changes in party control often lead to changes in government expenditures. (Republicans oppose the plans) -One can make the case that free college is regressive taxation in so far as the main beneficiaries are middle-class or upper-middle class students. Private good bc: COLLEGE GRADUATES EARN MUCH MORE THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT GO TO COLLEGE, SO COLLEGE CAN BE CONSIDERED A PRIVATE BENEFIT, LEADING TO THE ACCEPTABILITY OF TUITION CHARGES FOR THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD TO PAY AT THE SAME TIME, THE STATE HAS AN INTEREST IN SUBSIDIZING COLLEGE BECAUSE IT'S A PUBLIC GOOD Good idea same reason as a public good: - Those who graduate from college pay more taxes and use fewer government services than those who do not graduate. - College graduates tend to be better informed, more civically engaged, to volunteer more, to have more stable families -Free college is not free. Comes from Taxpayers, Brint says " Do older people with no children want to invest in some random kid's education?"

Elite theory

economic and political elites coordinate for effective rule on the major issues. Focus on "the big decisions". The Mass is Disorganized; the Economic and Political Elite Have Methods to Rule over the Disorganized Mass. Recruiting the most talented, cooptation of dissenters, control of communications, coordination among themselves, organizations that forge elite consensus Division between "instumentalists" (direct rule) and "structuralists" (fear of punitive actions) Economic Elite Domination: What does the 90th Percentile voter want?