Bureaucracy being regarded as the forth branch of government
In the United States, the bureaucracy is regarded as a forth branch of government by some besides the legislative, executive and the judicial. This is due to the fact that one has to comply with many processes in order to get things done. In the United States, bureaucracy is being considered as a branch of government alongside the other 3 branches due to the complex system that the government uses in its administration purposes at the local, national as well as the state level.
Thus the U.S government employs bureaucratic systems with regards to organization so as to ensure that there is smooth regulation as far as democracy is concerned. Bureaucracy however has the effect of maintaining social order in the society. Bureaucracy has also the effect of job specification and ensures that a job is specified in accordance with the right scope, responsibilities as well as obligations. It also enhances the subordination as well as supervision.
Comparison of bureaucracy with the 3 government branches
The three branches of government i.e. the executive, legislature as well as judiciary cannot perform well without applying bureaucracy. Just like the other 3 government branches, bureaucracy in the United States is ideal as it enables the government to keep its programs running. For instance, the united States have encompassed bureaucracy in its constitutional system so as to enhance checks as well as balances. The bureaucracy consists of the agencies and departments that carry out the functions of national government. Even though most of the agencies together withy the departments are common in the branch of executive, the same also exists in the legislature and judicial branches too and this has indeed made bureaucracy to be considered as a government’s forth branch.
What are the sources of presidential power?
United States usually operates within a presidential form of system, which requires that the president carries out the roles of government as well as state head. The main source of presidential power is mainly through the people who placed him in the office. The president is thus the peoples’ representatives and is fully answerable to the citizens. Being an electorate by the people, the president has to act in accordance with the public opinion.
The powers that the president acquires enable him to represent his country as well as other foreign countries. The executive powers also enable him to manage the workings as well as national affairs of his government.Therefore; he can issue instructions, rules as well as regulations which are referred to as the executive orders.As a result of his exclusive unitary leadership, the president has some substantial authority to lead as an individual. Being the head of executive, he is thus positioned uniquely to harmonize the agencies activities.
The strategies for presidential to exercise policy leadership
The president being the nation’s chief executive is expected to come up with leadership policies that are aimed at ensuring efficiency in the running of nation during the time that he will continue to hold office. In order to meet the obligations that the president’s plea top their supporters when they are conducting campaigns, the presidents are usually surrounded by staffs who are experts as far as leadership is concerned. The president requires the backing of American citizens in order to ensure that his leadership meets the expectations. Other aspects that requires the executive to maintain strong office includes natural calamities and the changing political environment both nationally and globally.
The common perception that the bureaucracy is unaccountable
Bureaucracy entails to the process of managing organizational issues by following official strict rules and regulations within the state requirement that order that an authority should come from the top or eliminate from a legitimate source. It thus has the effect of slowing the progress of almost everything. Bureaucracy leads to rigidity with regards to behaviors and decision making and also creates a clash between the bureaucratic thinkers and the managers.
It involves widespread application of writing implying that the decisions and actions must be formulated and put in writing. This is thus slow as well as cumbersome. Bureaucracy also require that employees are well trained so as to match with their job requirements and work is assigned based on personal experience and competence and there is consistent application of set rules and regulations and this implies an extra cost.
Who ensures that the bureaucratic power is kept in check?
The US constitution has the role of ensuring that the bureaucratic power is kept in check. For the purposes of preventing power abuse between bureaucracy and other government branches, the constitution has checks as well as balances system. The constitution also does not specify openly the supremacy of any government branch with bureaucracy included i.e. it views all the branches as equal. The constitution also ensures that the bureaucracy facilitates that the three main government branches i.e. the legislatuyre, executive and judiciary to perform well by specifying the functions of each branch. This in turn creates efficiency among the 3 branches.
How does the U.S. Supreme Court select the cases it hears?
In the United States, the Supreme Court usually considers three important factors before selecting on which cases to hear. The first consideration by the Supreme Court is as to whether case was an appeal by the court and as to whether the case conflicts with other circuits decisions. The second consideration is the significance of the particular case and finally the consideration as to whether the decisions by lower courts may not be correct with reference withy the opinions of Supreme courts.
What kind of cases tend to receive the courts attention?
Different cases have varying agreement levels and therefore there are those cases that tends top receive more court attention as compared to others. The judges also have limited resources and time to devote fully to the appeals. In US however, the court issues mainly relies on written presentations.Therefore,the kind of cases that receives the attention of the court are usually criminal cases as compared to minor ones due to their magnitude.
The press also causes cases to receive attention and this has the effect of creating unfairness. The court of Appeal in the US states that the policy of stare decisis has to be applied in the law system i.e. Standing by and adhering to the decisions. The courts have not given much attention to cases involving Federal constitution and have overruled the decisions in most cases. This is due to the fact that the legislative action of these cases is not possible.
Differences between monetary and fiscal polices
Monetary policies are concerned with the relationships that exist between the economy’s interest rates i.e. the price which money is borrowed as well as the total amount of money supplied. Fiscal policy on the other hand refers to policies towards taxation, public spending and public sector borrowing. Fiscal policy thus provides the economy with a desired direction whereas monetary policy has the role of controlling money supply of a nation.
Fiscal policy usually governs the manner in which taxation is carried out in a given nation whereas monetary policy has the responsibility of stabilizing the economic growth of a nation. Also, fiscal policy is concerned with the execution of an economic program of a nation whereas the monetary policy has the role of devising the programs that there should be followed by commercial banks is a given country. Whereas monetary policy uses bank rate, moral persuasion, open market operations ,reserve ratio and selective control tools in an effort to meet its objectives, the fiscal policies uses such instruments as public expenditure, public revenue, public borrowing and the budget so as to meet the objectives.
Objectives of monetary and fiscal policies
Both the goals of the monetary as well as fiscal policies are essentially the same in that they are both concerned with the price stability. Price stability usually represents an important framework condition with regards to the economic activity of a nation. The price stability guarantees that both the consumers and producers makes decisions based on sound and stable conditions which in turn enhances the economic active of a given nation and also the employment. The price stability objectives imply that the inflation is controlled in the economy. The goals of both policies are also essentially the same in that they both aims at increasing the rate of economic growth, maintaining the economic stability of a nation, achieving the desirable consumption levels, maintaining fair distribution of the national income and raising the employment levels.
What “grave implications” do you think president Eisenhower worried about in a “conjunction of an immense military establishment and large arms industry?”
President Eisenhower worried about the military spending as well as the presence of a complex large arms industry. He was thus worried that the military spending together with large arms industry poses a danger that can lead to effects that have long term complications. He realized that the United States spends much proportion of its domestic income in military security and so the establishment of an arms industry which is large signified a new era as far as the US security is concerned. The arms industry enhanced the security and this also implied that more and more citizens gained the skills with regards to firearms. The citizens could also have access to firearms easily and so Presidents Eisenhower saw the threat in that the domestic freedom could be compromised.
Is there evidence to support or to contradict any of the dangers he anticipated?
The president was right in his anticipation that the arms industry posed a great danger as far as the security of the US was concerned. He had urged the countrymen to be ready at all times so as to defend the state against the external aggression. The same came to pass later when the Soviet Union invaded US.
The government was however unprepared when the Soviet Union struck. Government spends more on military earning implies that tax payers are heavily taxed so as to compensate the spending by the government. The effects of huge spending by the government were also felt when the US economy continued to deteriorate. The NCS proposed a creation-68 proposed for new industries to be created so as to rebuild the power of the US military. This however led to an economic crisis because the resources that were required to produce the hardware were however much. The warnings by President Eisenhower were thus recalled 11 years following the NSC_68 recommendation of the military production.
What is the difference between a discretionary program and an entitlement program?
Discretionary program entails the spending legislation which is usually prepared by the House Senate Appropriation committees which is commonly refereed to as the HSAC.The spending is usually fixed for a one year period and its being controlled by the congress.There are those appropriations that usually last for a period that is longer than 1 year and they are regularly for the military as well as housing programs.
It is a requirement to prepare twelve appropriation bills in every fiscal year so as to ensure continuity of the discretionary spending. On the other hand, an entitlement entails a spending that is passed by law and does not rely on appropriation bill whether periodic or annually. Some of the programs that are contained in an entitlement include the Medicare, Medicaid as well as the benefits of Social Security. Some of the expenses that are mandatory in accordance with the entitlement program include the Federal judges remuneration The entitlement program spending structures’ can be affected by congress once the eligibility is altered.
Whereas discretionary programs are concerned with only a third of all the government spending, the entitlement program on the other hand is concerned with the two-thirds amount of the government spending and it’s not thus dependent on the appropriation bills.
How does this distinction affect our understanding of the national debit?
The mere understanding of the distinction between the discretionary and the entitlement program is essential as it enables us to understand the national debit. It enables us to understand the budget which is important aspect as far as the finances of Federal government are concerned. It is important to understand budgeting process so as to know how funds are allocated by the government and how the government obtains funds. The understanding will thus enable us to know that the taxes that we usually pays are used by the government to meet its expenses and so it is our responsibility to ensure that we pay taxes as and when they arises in order for the government to continue performing its functions appropriately.
In this regards, the understanding of the distinction between the two will enable us to know as to why it’s hard to reduce the federal expenditures. It is important to understand as to why it’s hard to reduce the federal expenses. The entitlements which are mainly assistance that are accorded to people who requires health care i.e. incase of Medicaid and Medicare or who need food in case of the Food Stamps are usually very hard areas for the government to reduce the spending.
With regards to discretionary spending, its understanding enable us to know that the government of the US is not in a position to reduce the amount it spends on the security for the coming years due to the terrorism threats that it faces. This implies that spending on those programs which are no defense is bound to change as and when the government deems it fit.