1. Making Domestic Policy
Chapter Twelve
Making Domestic Policy

2. Do interest groups have too much power?
Enduring Questions
Do interest groups have too much power?
Can the president make the country prosperous?
Why do we have a public debt?
Why are some public assistance programs popular and others unpopular?
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3. Issue must be on the political agenda to receive government attention
Introduction
Issue must be on the political agenda to receive government attention
Coalitions form to pass or defeat idea
If adopted, new program implemented
Evaluation and feedback of the program conducted
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4. Government cannot ensure a strong economy
The Economy
Government cannot ensure a strong economy
Tools of economic policy
What economic numbers hurt the president?
Federal Reserve Board
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5. Figure 12.1: Federal Highest Tax Rates, 1913–2003
Source: Updated from Congressional Quarterly Weekly Report, September 18, 1993, p
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6. Fiscal policy: deficits alone have little effect on elections
The Economy (Cont’d)
Fiscal policy: deficits alone have little effect on elections
Taxes
Spending
Subsidies, involve both spending and regulatory decisions
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7. Figure 12.2: Tax Burdens in Nineteen Democratic Nations
Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1998, p. 184.
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8. Making Policy Decisions
Every policy has perceived costs and benefits
Distribution of costs and benefits results in different kinds of political coalitions
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9. Making Policy Decisions (Cont’d)
Majoritarian politics
Client politics
Interest group politics
Entrepreneurial politics
What these political differences mean
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10. Figure 12.3: A Way of Classifying and Explaining the Politics of Different Policy Issues
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11. Reconsidering the Enduring Questions
Do interest groups have too much power?
Can the president make the country prosperous?
Why do we have a public debt?
Why are some public assistance programs popular and others unpopular?
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