Bureaucracy

Overview
	What is Bureaucracy for?
	Orthodox view on “how to”
	Shortcomings in the Managerial Orthodoxy

View #1 What is it for? Patronage!
	Create jobs for your supporters
	Pass out benefits to your supporters
	Spoils system: “To the victor go the spoils”
	Sometimes “shrouded” in apparent need for roads, parks, airplanes, etc

Patronage Was Practiced
	From about 1830-1883, the spoils system predominated
	Complaints about “corruption” “waste” “inefficiency” mounted

View #2: Impartial, “clean” government
	Civil Service Reform: 
		nonpartisan employees
		chosen for merit
	1883 Pendleton Act was beginning of trend that gradually covered most federal employees

Coincided with broader reform movement
	“Progressive Movement” had many components
		nonpartisan city government
		expert commissions
		primaries
		anti-corruption

Weber’s Ideal Bureaucracy (@1890)
	Hierarchy (Top-Down)
	Division of labor (Specialization)
	Accountability (resp. to higher level)
	Rule-based decision
	“rule of law” 
	standard operating procedures
	Impersonal
	Staff Expertise (qualifications)


State Dept Example

Cabinet Departments
	15 Cabinet Departments
	State
	Treasury
	Defense
	Justice
	Interior 
	Agriculture 
	Commerce 
	Labor 

The Cabinet
	Top officials of 15 major Departments are the “Cabinet”
	“Cabinet” not so important in US as in parliamentary system	
	Most Secretaries are chosen for political reasons
	President relies on WH staff & EOP for advice (not on Secretaries) 
	Vital role created by 25th Amendment (1967): remove “incapacitated president”

Degrees of Independence for new agencies
	SMALL: Bureau within Department
	MEDIUM: Bureau- standalone (Independent Agency)
	LARGE: Commission

Independent Agencies
	Bureau-sized, but free-standing
	Example:
		1970 EPA (Environmental Protection Agency): protecting nature
		1947 CIA (Central Intelligence Agency): I could tell you, but I’d have to .... 

But Why Independent?
	Political Motivation:
		Creators fear that their “priorities” might get lost if a new bureau is tucked away inside a Cabinet Dept
		Recall that Dept. of Homeland Security was created to symbolically unify many smaller bureaus

Independent Agencies
	They are independent of “supervision” by a higher “cabinet department”
	NOT independent of President
	NOT independent of Congress
	President can fire leader of IA for policy reasons.

But Not all Important Agencies are Independent
	FDA (Food and Drug Administration)  is inside Dept. of Health & Human Services
	FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) is inside Department of Justice
	Where’s Waldo?

Problem 1: Expertise Clashes with Supervision
	Weber assumes supervision of agents is simple, but it is not.
	Suppose the Standard procedure does not “fit a problem”
	A qualified expert evaluates a problem
		Costly/Impossible to supervise and monitor expert judgment.
	Otherwise a computer could handle the job!

Problem 2: Deep conflict in incentives
	“We” want bureaucrats to “do a good job”
	They want 
		Job Security
		Bigger Budgets

	Irony: Agencies not rewarded for “solving problems”. They are rewarded when problems flourish!

Problem 3: Can’t Separate Policy Making from Policy Implementation.

In a Perfect World:
	Congress makes policy
	President has duty to make sure law is “faithfully executed”
	But in practice
Congress leaves openings in laws where agencies have to insert details.
	Congressional Oversight: Committees hold hearings on agencies
		monitor
		threaten budget
		change the law

Prez fights back
	Replace some administrators (political appointment)
	Reassign civil servants
	Executive Order
	“Signing Statements”

Independent Regulatory Commissions
	The Ultimate example of Congressional Delegation
	Imagine a cartoon with bubble: I know: Let’s let the experts handle it!

What if a problem is super especially important, confusing, mysterious, problematic?	
	From 1887 to 1934, the popular approach was to create an “Independent Regulatory Commission”
	To
		Formulate standards in “public interest”
		Enforce by fines & such
		Decisions by majority vote of commissioners
		Commissions are Very Independent
		Not one “Director”, but a group of commissioners.
		Commissioners are appointed for long terms “overlapping” presidents
	Sup. Ct. ruled president cannot remove them for policy reasons.
	Editorial Comment
	IRCs were upheld way back when, but
	I believe they would be declared Unconstitutional if they were created today for the first time.

Commission Examples
	1887: Congress created Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate rail roads (since abolished)
	1913: Federal Reserve Board
	1914: FTC (Federal Trade Commission): protecting consumers
	1934: Federal Communications Commission

Separation of Powers is Questionable Description