American Government 7
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American Government 7
Bureaucracy refers to organizations ran by government workers who were elected but had the power to make official decisions. Bureaucracies can implement federal laws developed by Congress. They also regulate these laws hence affecting g the lives of Americans in general. In the United States, the executive branch of the government holds the structure of federal bureaucracy (Barrett et al. 2017). Therefore, all organizations within the federal administration get appointments from Congress, authorizing them to move governmental business. That is why there is an iron triangle in the US government, which shows the relationship between the federal bureaucracy, Congress, and the interest groups.
Bureaucrats work in the directorial capacity of the government. In most cases, they are people who work behind the scenes for their politicians while the politicians rest. According to Max Weber, bureaucracy refers to a small desk for the government. Thus, he emphasizes that bureaucracies are vital in any given government setting since they ensure that things are done in a well-organized and rational manner. In my opinion, that is the secret of successful operations in contemporary society. From Weber’s characteristics of bureaucracy, the federal bureaucracy has a hierarchical chain of command, whereby power and authority flow from the top bureaucrat down to the bottom (McGarity, 2005).
Furthermore, bureaucracies have a division of labor where job specialization is prevalent. It also has rules that govern its functionality, whereby the organization sets goals that every bureaucrat strives to achieve. Therefore, the federal bureaucracy is a real government.
In the American government system, the executive and legislative branches are elected into their offices while the judicial members are appointed and confirmed by the president and the Senate, respectively. According to Article III of the American constitution, Congress is at the discretion of determining the structure of the judiciary. Currently, there are nine justices, among which there are one chief justice and nine associates. Inferior to the Supreme Court, there are district courts responsible for trying federal cases and the courts of appeal responsible for reviewing appealed cases from the district courts. The role of the judicial system is to decide whether the federal laws are constitutional or not as well as solving disputes associated with federal laws. However, the judicial judges depend on the executive branch of the government in enforcing decisions of the courts.
The judicial system has the power to impose constraints on the federal bureaucracy. Similarly, it can do away with existing constraints if need be. For instance, in the INS versus Chadha ruling in 1983, the court rejected the legislative sanction, which in return eliminated Congress’s power in overruling bureaucratic agencies’ decisions. Furthermore, even though the legislative branch makes laws, the judicial system can declare them unconstitutional. Moreover, the judiciary has the authority to review or interpret the constitution; therefore, when judicial judges rule that executive laws violate the constitutional spirit, their decision is profound and influential to the public policy.
The iron triangle is a mutual benefit between the federal bureaucracy, Congress, and the interest groups. Each member of the iron triangle undertakes activities that are beneficial or helpful to the other. Therefore, the iron triangle members share a great bond that is unbreakable. From the political analyst’s perspective, the iron triangle participants are vital in setting up government policies. Therefore, agencies and government departments collaborate with the interest groups to influence policy actions. Furthermore, the mutually beneficial relationship of the iron triangle can change how policies are developed and enacted. For instance, if the iron triangle relationship influences the formation of narrow and pork-barrel government policies, the interest groups are likely to benefit while the ordinary citizen suffers.
Through this unit, I have learned that while the federal government is mainly responsible for the operation of the justice system of the nation, the local authorities bear the responsibility of protecting the police. At the same time, the states are responsible for the correctional facilities. I have also learned that the federal government is the only body responsible for the regulation of interstate and commerce policies. The policy actions often commence from the Congress legislation, which entails about 435 members of the House of Representatives and 100 senators. More so, regardless of the population of people in a given state, each state among the 50 should have two senatorial representatives. Congress approves Bills, but the president can opt to sign or reject with a veto. Another important thing I have learned is that the executive branch enforces the laws made by Congress (Frank, 1948).
In conclusion, the American government works under the iron triangle whereby the federal bureaucracy, Congress, and the interest groups work mutually to achieve the set goals and objectives of the government. The federal bureaucracy can be regarded as the real government because of its structural arrangement and functionality. It acts behind the scenes for the politicians and the federal government. The judiciary has the authority to curb the power of the legislative, executive, and bureaucratic powers because it is a branch that determines the constitutionality of the federal laws.
References
Barrett, K., Jones, B., Litton, G., Cabrera, R., & Beznosov, M. (2017). American Government (UWG).
Frank, J. P. (1948). Historical Bases of the Federal Judicial System. Law and Contemporary Problems, 13(1), 3-28.
McGarity, T. O. (2005). Reinventing rationality: The role of regulatory analysis in the federal bureaucracy. Cambridge University Press.