The United States Bureaucracy
- Stereotypically slow and tedious/inefficient
- Compare to industrialized (like not Latin America) democracies

Government is a service industry
- US Gov has roughly 3 million employees

Bureaucracy: a large organization structured hierarchically to carry out
specific functions
    - The ideal -- Efficient administration

Differences between public and private bureaucracies
    - Public = government (GA, US, GT), private = company
    - Leadership in private companies is "earned"
    - Leadership in gov't is appointed, so
    - Incentive for performance
        - Private sector ties compensation directly to performance
          (e.g. commission)
        - No incentives tied to easy measures of performance
At least, this is true in the US.

Three Models of Bureaucracy
Weberian Model (private sector)
    - Hierarchical with formal rules and regulations, top-down,
      technical and rational/neutral
Acquisitive Model (Gov)
    - Protect one's own "turf" rather than org-wide motives
    - Individual self-serving motivations
Monopolistic Model (Gov)
    - Model of inefficiency
    - Only place you can get the service, so why compete
    - Ex: DDS, Defense Dept
Gov's bureaucracy is generally inefficient because of its structure

15 major executive service organizations
    - 60% of all civilian workers
Independent Executive Agencies
    - CIA, NASA don't report to cabinet member
Government Corporations
    - Organized like private firm (USPS)
        - Still not Weberian because they deliver things others won't
Independent Regulatory Agencies
    - Implement and make rules to protect the public
    - Nuclear Regulatory Commission
    - Federal Communications Commission
    - Develop an acquisitory model to gain budget, responsibility, etc
    - Acquisition can create overregulation

- What one item has 41K regulations? (most serve a purpose)
    Not pharmaceuticals (few regulations because of the lobby)
    Not cars (lots of power in the economy -> not too many regs)
    - Cheeseburger
    - Adds 8 to 11 cents on the price
- Some might be a little extreme
    - The pickle slice *must* be between 1/4" and 3/8" thick
Chocolate can have up to one rodent hair or 60 insect pieces per 100g
Frozen brocolli can have up to 60 pests per 100g
Fewer than 5 fly eggs or 1 maggot per 250ml of canned orange juice

Staffing the bureaucracy
Two categories
    - Political appointees
        - Presidential nominations
        - Senate approves them
        - Party politics is important to getting appointed
        - "Political plums": unimportant ambassadors
    - Civil Servants
        - Position established by Pendleton Act
            - Requires meritocratic selection
        - President used to be able to fire all old civil servants to
          reward their political party ("to the victor goes the spoils")
        - Hatch Act prevents federal bureaucrats from campaigning

Modern Attempts at Bureaucratic Reform
- Sunshine Laws
    - "Shed light" on gov't
    - Full disclosure of gov't agencies
- Sunset Laws
    - Requires congressional reviews of effectiveness of agency programs
    - If ineffective, may move or get shut down
- Privatization
    - Theory: competitive contracts mean you get the cheapest provider
      of good/service
    - If company fails, it just gets more money to finish it
- Performance and Results Act
    - Sort of establishes the bare minimums an agency/program must meet
- Internet
    - Has consolidated a LOT of information, bulletins, interviews
    - Free, always-available, easier
    - Ex: IRS relations have gotten much better/easier
- Whistleblower Protection Act
    - Report waste and fraud anonymously
    - In recent impeachment proceedings, violated by outing them

How does the US compare (to its industrialized democratic peers)?
- France -- *Grand Corps*, National School of Administration (ENA)
    - Common training, common language, same goals
        - WAY more effective
    - Very elitist...mostly upper class, 40% have a family background
        - Mostly from Greater Paris Area suburbs
    - "These princes who govern us," semi-sovereign
        - Inflexible, poorly represents France as a whole
- Germany
    - Combines moral sense and legalism
        - Derived from a regimental military state
    - Mostly lawyers
        - Generally consistent and useful bureaucracy
        - But homogenous mindset, and prefers legalism to moralism
    - Like France, loyal to the state
- Japan
    - Very attractive, very competitive (esp for youth)
    - Graduation with honsors is a must, and Tokyo U helps.
    - Regimented schedule and criteria for promotion
    - Abnormally high level of political influence
        - 90% of all legislation passed comes from them
    - Only actually a few hundred jobs each year
    - Good "professional" bureaucracy, but it might not reflect
      political culture
But these bureaucracies still have similar problems to the US. Why?
- None can perfectly fit the Weberian model