Public Policy Midterm Part 2

Magnitude

(nature and scope) How many people does the problem affect? E.g., Over 60% of Americans are overweight or obese- That's a huge #!

Public Problem

A condition or situation that produces needs or dissatisfaction among people and for which relief or redress by governmental action is sought.

Tractability

Are there solutions to the problem? How easier/hard are the solutions to implement? Problem: Proximal causes easier to address than root causes; e.g., provide more information vs. regulate food industry, end harmful farm subsidies, build sidewalks and other means of promoting active living.

Policies Stream: Example

Confederate flag over the state House (been there for over 54 years since 1962)

Kingdon's "agenda setting model" discussed in Anderson suggests that 3 separate streams need to converge for an issue to become part of the agenda for legislative consideration. Which of the following is NOT one of the three streams that Kingdon believes must converge for there to be an open policy window:

Economic Stream

Problem Creation: How do conditions become problems?

Examples of conditions that aren't(weren't) problems? Women's suffrage? Obesity (before)? E.g., Lawrence article Natural Disasters? (i.e., hurricanes, tsunamis) Female Circumcision➔ FGM? Income inequality?

Obesity as a Public Problem: Do Causes Matter?

Genetic and Systemic Causes of Obesity- implies lack of control (involuntary). 'Too Fat To Fly' Passenger Sues Southwest Airlines For 'Discriminatory Actions' May 3, 2012 BY JUJU CHANG, ELIZABETH STUART, LAUREN EFFRON and SALLY HAWKINSELIZABETH STUART http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/fat-fly-passenger-sues-southwest-airlines-discriminatory-actions/story?id=16271932 Is singling out overweight/obese people because of their weight discrimination? Should overweight/obese individuals be afforded special protections? Does it matter whether being obese or not is a choice in this argument?

Problem Stream - Example

Horrific shooting of 9 African-American Church-goers in Charleston, S.C. (focusing event)

Severity

How negatively are people affected? E.g., Being overweight is implicated in approximately three hundred thousand deaths per year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2003; Office of the Surgeon General 2003).

#MeToo

Note: Sexual harrassment is not a new issue Many people thought this issue had been resolved. Sexual harassment is considered a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (dealing with Equal Employment Opportunity). Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government. #MetToo has succeeded in raising attention to this continued problem However, the problem framing of this issue is being contested Some think it should go broader- i.e., all forms of interaction btw men and women Some think it should go narrower- i.e., focus on sexual harassment and assault Some thnk it has gone too far and become a witch hunt and should be dramatically scaled back

The Anderson textbook suggests that conditions become public problems when they are judged as wrong against some standard or value and viewed as amenable to government action. The Lawrence article makes the case that obesity is actively being reframed away from arguments emphasizing personal responsibility towards arguments emphasizing systemic causes. Which of the following is NOT a framing of obesity that makes it an issue clearly amenable to public action?

Obesity is caused by individuals' choices to overeat and unwillingness to exercise.

What was the problem frame and policy proposed for the Confederate Flag?

PROBLEM FRAMED LESS AS AN ISSUE OF GUN VIOLENCE AND MORE IN TERMS OF RACIAL HATRED. THE POLICY PROPOSED WAS THE REMOVAL OF THE CONFEDERATE FLAG FROM THE STATEHOUSE. Shooter who shot up the black church

Focusing Event.

Pictures from Syrian War - Shocking but need to be seen.

Politics Stream:

Political will in the state house? - One of the victims (the Church pastor) was a state Senator - Nikki Haley decided to champion the issue (VP bid?) - State Representative (Jenny Horne) also championed the issue A descendant of Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president

Problem Framing Summary

Problem framing is a political process The same issue can be framed in very different ways- as a private matter versus a public matter Issues that are successfully framed as public problems (and with less vigorous frame contests) are more likely to advance on the agenda. It is important for you to learn how to be compelling in your framing of policy issues

Summary Problem Definition part 2 maybe

Process of problem definition largely a political process A process of deliberate framing/image making- attributing cause, blame, responsibility. This process can be problematic because really important issues that are not well packaged may get left off the table

Anderson discusses Downs' "issue-attention cycle" (p. 107, Loss of Agenda Status), which suggests that issues tend to pass through 5 stages of increasing and decreasing attention. Which of the following problems is likely currently in the second phase of the attention cycle? (hint: the second stage is "Public becomes aware and alarmed about the condition":

Sexual Harassment (i.e., #MeToo)

Down's Issue Attention Cycle

Stage 1: Undesirable social conditions exist, but little public recognition. Stage 2: Public becomes aware and alarmed about the condition. Stage 3: Complexity of the issue and difficulty to address comes to light. Stage 4: Attention to the issue wanes. Stage 5: Agencies/systems developed may persist even as attention has waned.

Problems with the Agenda Stetting Process, cont.

Two Visions/Approaches to Problem Definition: 1. Political- what we have been talking about... 2. Rational- the issues that get attention should be those that are genuinely the most urgent, not that simply pull at our heartstrings. Does the political approach cause us to focus on issues that may not be the most important simply because they are "sexy" (e.g., salient/controversial).

Actors in Agenda Setting

Visible Participants: Set agendas, define problems Political "Champions"- influential & charismatic figures E.g., President, Bono (AIDS), Michelle Obama (obesity) Especially prominent in Problem & Politics Stream Hidden Participants= Community of specialists in a given field E.g., Bureaucrats, academics, advocates May be equally or more important than the visible participants, though we usually don't know their name. Especially prominent in Policy Stream Policy entrepreneurs= Advocates for proposals or for the prominence of an idea (Kingdon, p. 122). Ex., Jonathan Gruber- MIT, Econ- mastermind behind the MA health reform & ACA. Michael Bloomberg, Thomas Farley- NYC DOH- transfat ban, menu labeling. Wayne LaPierre- Executive VP of the National Rifle Association

Framing of the Causes of Public Problems affects...

Whether we see issues as public policy problems at all E.g., Global Climate Change- man-made or a naturally occurring process? The solutions suggested to address the problem Agree that we need to allocate funds to offset effects of global climate change, but... Disagree about changing policies related to carbon emissions.

Systemic Or Enviormetal Frames

broaden the focus, assigning responsibility to government, business, and larger social forces. These types of problems are more clearly amenable to public action.

individualizing frames

limit the causes of a problem to particular individuals, often those who are afflicted with the problem. Limits government action.