Public Policy Themes
Public policy creation and study is a complex process that contains a variety of different perspectives and considerations, some practical and others less so. Ultimately, even the more political and seemingly impractical elements of public policy must be dealt with in a practical and pragmatic fashion, however; though certain themes in public policy reflect more about personal and subjective interests and desires than they do direct, actionable, and ideal goals for the public at large, accomplishing anything in public policy means finding a diplomatic balance that appeases the louder of the more subjective public elements. Understanding certain of the themes currently observed in public policy discussions can lead to a more effective development of public policy on directly practical and political terms.
One of the most pragmatic yet idealized themes in public policy is the sentiment that government should be run like a business. This theme implies several things about the perspective that should be brought to public policy study, discussion, and creation, may of which are directly and explicitly practical. One of the simplest yet most meaningful interpretations of this perspective is to see governments and government agencies as needing to work with the same capital restraints as bottom-line attention as a business: spending money before revenue is obtained or even secured is common for many governments, yet is impossible for a business for any length of time. If governments were run more like businesses, more realistic revenue streams and service programs would be established than are currently in existence for many government entities, with less waste and even potential for corruption.
This speaks directly to another interpretation of the “government as business” theme,” and touches on other current themes in public policy as well. Businesses serve stakeholders, including owners and consumers, and when it comes to governments the citizens are both owners and consumers. Governments must maximize the benefits to their stakeholders in the most efficient manner possible just like businesses, yet while this means profits for businesses it means serving the public interest for governments. It is here that the parallels of the first theme fade away, however, and the theme of serving the public interest takes over. The public interest is not served by short-term gains at the expense of long-term stability, which can serve certain businesses well; serving the public interest involves balancing short-term sacrifice with ongoing stability and long-term service provision.
Some themes of public policy have been brought even more firmly to the foreground in the recent years of economic turmoil and recession. “Focus on basic services” is a mantra of certain policy makers and taxpayer advocates alike, and this theme also resonates with and complicates other identified themes and goals. Basic service provision is very much a short-term goal, and while it is unquestionably the most necessary element of public policy — if the basic services of infrastructure, emergency services, etc. cannot be provided, there won’t be an environment where anything else can be accomplished — this cannot be the sole focus of policy. Ensuring basic service provision before developing and implementing plans that enable growth and long-term stability must be accomplished.
It is in circumstances such as these that the less directly practical and more political elements of public policy come into play. Demonstrating a strong focus on basic services while more quietly creating longer term plans, not in a way that reduces transparency but in a manner the calls less attention to itself is often necessary; even when such planning is in the public interest and is both practically and ethically warranted, not all elements of society will always agree on this point. Other highly politicized concerns, such as taxation, also call for highly politicized action in order to achieve the practical ends of serving the public interest with efficiency and effectiveness. Current calls for a cessation of any new taxes or tax increases do not reflect a truly pragmatic view of a situation in which spending — for the federal as well as many other governments — vastly outstrips revenue. Though spending cuts can reduce this imbalance, revenue increases will almost certainly be a part of the solution as well. Successful public policy creation in such periods must consist of creating revenue increases in a manner that reduces their appearance as taxes in the strict sense, appeasing political themes in the current debates while accomplishing the long-running practical aims of public policy.
Any word or phrase can become politicized, and any concept or action in public policy is liable to be interpreted in a political manner by certain parties. One of the keys to public policy is balancing the practical and the political implications of the various themes involved in the study and creation of public policy. These implications can be far reaching and complex, but are well worth pursuing to their pragmatic conclusions.
Section II: User Fees for Certain Municipal Services
While taxation — typically through a sales tax — is the most common source of revenue for a municipality and the manner in which it funds the bulk of its activities and service provisions, some services ought to be paid for directly through user fees for reasons of efficiency and fairness. Basic utilities are a prime example of such a service provided on a user-fee basis by most municipalities or other local governments for both of these reasons. Though it is the government’s responsibility to set up and maintain the production facilities and the provision infrastructure for services like electricity and water, simply paying for these services out of general tax funds would place an unfair burden on businesses and residences that used little in the way of utilities, while allowing major consumers to avoid full payment for what they use. Instead, fees are (typically) assessed on set basis per unit of usage, with billing and collection accomplished via mail and increasingly via Internet means. Costs for this collection are minimal, metering is accomplished with equally minimal expenses, and subsidies or special rates for low-income individuals can be easily made available in order to accommodate various abilities to pay.
Many municipalities operate certain recreational facilities that require large amounts of maintenance, labor, and liability coverage, such as swimming pools and skating rinks. Again, these are typically built and maintained with the use of general revenue and are often operated under subsidies or partial funding from general revenues, but there is also a user fee associated with these services as well. The rationale here is the same as it is for the sue of facilities; the use of these services is highly varied amongst community members, with some deriving enormous benefit from the services and some deriving no benefit whatsoever. It would be unfair to spread the cost of these services equally across all individuals, and it would also be inefficient to do so — revenues received from the user fees can be directly used to determine the amount of funds that should be allocated to these facilities, the amount of public good that these facilities create, and the overall actual cost-per-person of the facilities when balanced with revenues. With the collection of user fees at such facilities taking place on-site at the time of use, costs and resources required for the collection are very low and the overall efficiency of such funding is quite high.
Publicly operated parking structures or even metered street parking spaces represent yet another municipal service paid for via user fees. Once again, the rationale for this comes from the highly variable use of this service or resource by different members of the community, and again, the collection and administration of these fees is direct and virtually instantaneous. With the advent of more affordable wireless communication, many municipalities now employ meter devices that can process credit and debit card payments that allow for payment processing without the need for any labor resources to be devoted the collection of physical currency, making the fee collection even more efficient. Individuals are charged per allotment of time that they utilize the parking space, tying usage directly to the fees, which are then (typically) applied to road maintenance and other public infrastructure issues that support car travel and business or that subsidize public transportation to allow for more efficient transportation generally. This amounts to redistribution based on the use of resources.
Section III: The Policymaking Process
Policymaking can seem relatively straightforward at first glance, and in fact the process of making public policy can be broken down into only four basic steps, similar to many other processes and project cycles. An examination of each of the steps in the policymaking process, however, reveals that this undertaking is more complex and more fraught with potentials for conflict than this surface understanding suggests. From the number of players involved in policymaking and their varied perspectives and values, to the practical concerns and constraints that limit capabilities in every step of the policymaking process, the creation of public policy is hardly as straightforward or as direct as it initially seems. An examination of the four basic steps of policymaking reveals this quite clearly.
The first step in the policymaking process is the agenda setting that must come before policies are even considered. Bringing problems to the attention of policy makers and thus setting the policy agenda is accomplished by many different players with different aims, from citizen groups to businesses to media organizations and many others. All of these groups r individual representatives (and sometimes simple individuals) can use a variety of methods for setting the agenda, form private meetings with policy makers to speaking at town hall meetings or city councils to engaging in media or public awareness campaigns. In larger governments, lobbying is a major source of agenda-setting activity, as the interests of groups that engage lobbying services are brought to the direct and immediate attention of government representatives in what amounts to a pay-for-play system. The political elements of agenda setting tend to be substantial at all levels of government (Gerston 2011).
After the agenda is set and the specific problems that need to be addressed by public policies are identified, developing and adopting policies forms the next step in the policymaking process. Oftentimes, the same stakeholders that were involved in setting policy agendas remain involved in developing policy; if a police chief was instrumental in raising public awareness about a lack of police funding, for example, he might also be officially consulted as to budget needs and allocation measures before they are adopted. Many instances of public policy creation are required by law to obtain input from citizens or to conduct certain studies to determine needs, resource availability, impacts, etc., and all of the information gathered from such sources must form part of the considerations during the policy development phase. Finally, discussion and negotiation amongst different policymakers with different constituents or other values/interests must take place before policies can be adopted (Gerston 2011).
While it is often the most visible and directly relevant step in the policy process for most citizens, policy implementation is in some ways the most straightforward and basic steps involved. The development and adoption phase often (in efficient and properly conducted policymaking systems, at least) maps out the price resource allocations and other practicalities of policy adoption, and though forecasts are rarely exactly accurate they should be close enough to allow for smooth implementation. Still, there can be large numbers of departments, officials, and lower level employees involved in the implementation of public policy, and with certain policies the entire population of citizens is necessarily a part of the implementation procedure. Obviously, the greater the number of people involved the more complex and the less efficient it becomes to carry out the direct practical and physical elements of policy implementation (Gerston 2011).
The final phase in policymaking is the evaluation and termination process, which is sometimes viewed as evaluation a return to agenda setting. The two perspectives both involve the assessment of policy costs and effects in order to determine whether or not implemented policies achieved their purposed goals, as well as if these goals are worth the resource and time allocation necessary to implement the policies. If more efficient or effective means of attaining the same goals can be identified via the review process, the policy is likely to enter the development and adoption phase again, or possible changes to the policymaking environment might cause the agenda setting phase to again influence policy development in a specific area. If the policy is not part of an ongoing process, or if it comes to a close and is replaced or rendered obsolete for some reason, policy termination also involves certain complexities including the reorganization of human resources, ensuring all policy beneficiaries’ needs will be met, and that the other needs met by the policy will continue to be addressed in some manner. Typical players in this phase include policymaking officials and key individuals involved in the implementation of the specific policies involved (Gerston 2011).
Even this brief overview of the policymaking process demonstrates the complexity that exists in such an undertaking. From agenda setting through eventual termination, policymaking involves large numbers of stakeholders, each with their own interests and values. Balancing these and achieving real good is easier said than done.
Section IV: The Henry Flowers Case
When Henry Flowers applied to become the new attorney for the El Paso Independent School District, he and his sister Miriam, the president of the school board, certainly new that nepotism laws would create a certain conflict of interest. According to Texas Government Code Chapter 573, it is illegal for any official to vote in the hiring of a person related to them by blood or marriage, meaning that the president of the school board could have no part in hiring her brother. Miriam complied with this part of the law, and abstained form voting in the hiring decision, but this does not mean that the law was followed nor that the hiring of Henry Flowers can be upheld due to the nepotism laws. Chapter 573 goes further than simply prohibiting the involvement of public officials in the hiring of their relatives, and it is in this area of the law that Miriam overstepped her bounds.
After prohibiting the hiring of individuals related to an official by that official, Section 42 of Chapter 573 of the Texas Government Code reads, “A candidate may not take an affirmative action to influence the following individuals regarding the appointment, reappointment, confirmation of the appointment or reappointment, employment, reemployment, change in status, compensation, or dismissal of another individual related to the candidate within a degree described by Section 573.002: (1) an employee of the office to which the candidate seeks election; or (2) an employee or another officer of the governmental body to which the candidate seeks election, if the office the candidate seeks is one office of a multimember governmental body.” This is the particular statute that Miriam violated during the hiring process of her brother as the district’s attorney.
Spending ten minutes singing Henry Flowers’ praises to the rest of the board prior to recusing herself form the actual vote certainly constituted an “affirmative action” on Miriam’s part, in direct violation of the above-quoted statute. One could argue that Miriam is not technically a candidate, as she is already the elected president of the school board, and indeed the interpretation of this statute’s application to this case is not made clear in the law itself. Most school board positions are elected on an annual basis, however, and as such even office holders could be considered to be in a perpetual state of candidacy, making Miriam’s affirmative action illegal. It is also possible that the hiring of Henry Flowers would as the district’s attorney would be entirely impossible according to Section 44 of the same chapter of Texas Government Code, which prohibits any official from taking any part in the confirmation of an appointment of a relative to a position over which the official will have control or oversight. As the president of the board, Miriam will doubtless have to take part in the confirmation of Henry Flowers’ appointment to the position of the district’s attorney, and as this is the case there is no way for Flowers to be hired by the district in any capacity that reports to the board while Miriam is the sitting president.
Nepotism laws can have unintended consequences, including preventing good people form being hired to fill positions simply because they are related to decision makers. The ills caused by such laws are greatly outnumbered by the benefits of their protections, however.
References
Gerston, L. (2010). Public Policymaking: Process and Principles. Armonk, NY: M.E.
Sharpe.
Texas Constitution and Statutes. (2011). Government Code Chapter 573. Accessed 14
October 2011. http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
GET A PERFECT SCORE!!! 
Delivering a high-quality product at a reasonable price is not enough anymore.
That’s why we have developed 5 beneficial guarantees that will make your experience with our service enjoyable, easy, and safe.
You have to be 100% sure of the quality of your product to give a money-back guarantee. This describes us perfectly. Make sure that this guarantee is totally transparent.
Read moreEach paper is composed from scratch, according to your instructions. It is then checked by our plagiarism-detection software. There is no gap where plagiarism could squeeze in.
Read moreThanks to our free revisions, there is no way for you to be unsatisfied. We will work on your paper until you are completely happy with the result.
Read moreYour email is safe, as we store it according to international data protection rules. Your bank details are secure, as we use only reliable payment systems.
Read moreBy sending us your money, you buy the service we provide. Check out our terms and conditions if you prefer business talks to be laid out in official language.
Read more