1. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES LECTURE 7 THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES

2. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Headed by the President and Cabinet A vast bureaucracy Civil servants or bureaucrats Public administrators The fourth branch of government

3. THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Organized as a pyramid Framers of the Constitution: government should be accountable to the people Federal bureaucracy is hard to control: FDR: It is just like a feather bed, you punch it with your right, and you punch it with your left until you are finally exhausted, then you find the damn bed just as it was before you started punching

4. DIFFICULTIES OF CONTROL Causes Size Many masters: President: head of the pyramid, Congress: creates the structure, oversees the executive branch (legislative oversight: executive branch officials can be summoned to explain or defend their policies)

5. DIFFICULTIES OF CONTROL Special interests: Agriculture Department: to help farmers Commerce Department: to represent the interests of business Each department has its own constituency Interweaving responsibilities, conflicting loyalties Bureaucratic red tape: most often voiced critique: complicated rules, difficulties of average individual while taking care of official matters

6. FUNCTIONS OF THE BUREAUCRACY Executive: carrying out laws and policies: agency notifies industry about governmental regulations, Internal Revenue Service sends out notices to taxpayers Quasi-legislative: Setting standards to carry out a policy: USDA (Department of Agriculture): guidelines for the purity of meat Quasi-judicial: Federal agency or department decides how a policy should be applied: how should federal monies be used by cities or businesses

7. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS At first: few in number, limited in duties First three departments: State, War, Treasury Gradual growth of the executive branch Reasons: new tasks have to be handled by government (Dept. Of Interior: manages federal lands Dept. of Defense,Dept. Of Health, Education, and Welfare)

8. INDEPENDENT AGENCIES The fourth branch of government Not under the President’s direct control Regulatory agencies (Consumer Product Safety Commission, Federal Communication Commission, FTC, Federal Trade Commission) Caveat emptor: buyer beware until 1932 Since than: caveat vendor: seller beware Agencies are protected from party control

9. NON-REGULATORY AGENCIES Independent service agencies Perform services for the executive branch: Civil Service Commission: operates under merit system, allocates jobs within federal bureaucracy, General Services Administration: construction and maintenance of govt. buildings Perform public services: U.S. Postal Service, Veterans Administration

10. THE INCREASING SIZE OF GOVERNMENT Population increase: 1789: 4 million, 2009: 300 million Territorial increase Industrialization: from a rural economy to industrial and post-industrial economy Growth of transportation and communication Interconnected world-Globalization (defense, economic issues, oil shortage)

11. GROWTH OF EXPECTATIONS Increased competition resulted in a demand for more federal aid (farmers fighting against thre railroads) Economic hardship during the Depression (federal government guarantees bank deposits) Cities asking for help for stopping urban decay, States asking for help Nation’s increased involvement in world affairs: (World War Two)