Analysis of American Government in Different Situations - Assignment Example

Lesson 17: Principle Roles of the President It must be said that the President of the United s has many roles and functions to perform; however, some of the President’s roles or functions are more important than others. Five of the principle roles include the American President’s power to create and issue executive orders, the power to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, the power to nominate, the power to engage in foreign policy and foreign affairs, and the power to prepare the national budget. These powers and roles are not without constraints, indeed other branches of the government are reserved important roles to preserve the integrity of the separation of powers, but the President nevertheless has significant powers and significant influence. First, the President has powers to issue what are known as executive orders. At first glance, given its close relationship to the legislative powers granted to Congress, this may seem odd and even unconstitutional. In effect, in order to manage both the executive branch and a myriad of agencies, the President is empowered to issue rules and regulations without Congressional support or approval. These executive orders are binding rather than advisory and have the effect of legislative acts. The practice is controversial; just recently, for example, Obama Barack has promised to review all of the executive orders issued by George W. Bush. The role is powerful and it has a legislative tilt. Second, the President serves in the role as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. He makes decisions regarding war and defense and instructs the Pentagon. The War Powers Act was passed by Congress in an effort to dilute this power but Presidents have gotten around it well enough. Third, the President has the power to nominate many public officials with the consent of the legislative branch. This may involve members of the Cabinet or Supreme Court Justices. Here, unlike in the executive order context, the constraints on Presidential power seem more real. Unpopular nominations are often contested by the legislative branch and can very well be defeated. Fourth, the President plays a primary role in setting foreign policy and in foreign affairs. He is the Head of State, he has the power to reward or to punish other countries or regions, and he is the Commander-in Chief. The world looks to the American President for leadership and for clues as to what American policy will be in the future. Finally, from an economic point of view, the American President has the responsibility for submitting a national budget to the legislative branch for consideration. The President, as a result, is thus able to set the agenda and to shape to some extant any debates or political battles. The American President is vested with many roles and tremendous power and influence. Lesson 18: Bureaucrats and Policy Sometimes forgotten in discussions about the policymaking process in the United States of America is the role played by bureaucrats. More often than not the bureaucrats are ignored while the media and the public focus on elected politicians or members of the judicial branch. Ignoring the role played by bureaucrats, however, is a critical mistake if one wants to truly understand how policy is formulated and implemented in America. This is because elected politicians often rely on the expertise possessed by bureaucrats in different fields and because the bureaucrats implement many of the policies. Here are a number of reasons why bureaucrats are important to consider. First, members of the bureaucracy tend to be permanent or life-long public servants rather than temporary servants. A President may serve a maximum of eight years and lesser officials can be voted out soon after being elected. Bureaucrats have been working on policy issues for years, whether tax or immigration, and they have dedicated their lives and their careers to the policy process. This leads to the issue of expertise. A senator cannot specialize in every policy field; indeed, such a broadly-based policy specialization would be intellectually and physically impossible. The bureaucrats, however, are specialized and can prepare reports for the elected officials to consider. Policy tends to begin with the bureaucrats and to end with the elected officials. In this way, the non-elected public servants are accountable to the elected officials and so are their policy proposals and ideas. Finally, bureaucrats permeate every aspect of American government. They conceive of policies, they issue rules and regulations, they engage in case studies and experiments, and they implement policies. They are the body and the energy in the American body politic. Lesson 19: Government and the Economy How the government should interact with the economy has led to contentious debate. Broadly speaking, there are two general schools of thought. On the one hand, as professed by those whom often refer to Ronald Reagan, limited government is best. These people suggest that by limiting government interference in the economy that business can take care of itself, create jobs, and contribute more successfully to a healthy national economy. Such an approach manifests itself in terms of calls for governmental deregulation, calls for tax cuts, and an increased tolerance for such things as near-monopolies and leveraged debt. That such a theoretical approach, limited government, helps a country maintain its economic security is questionable. The deregulation of energy, as evidenced by Enron, was a disaster that hurt many people, many states, and the national economy. On the other hand, there is another school of thought that advocates an active involvement by government in the management of the economy. This means such things as preventing unfair trade practices and monopolies, enforcing labor and environmental standards, monitoring and enforcing pension funds held by businesses, imposing taxes to ensure social welfare and redistribution of national wealth, and many more practices. Some have referred to this as big government; others have referred to it as inefficient government. The central tenet is that the free market and business cannot be trusted to act in society’s bests interests. As a result, government must interfere in order to protect society’s interest. There are more than two theories, more than two schools of thought, but the limited versus the big government paradigm serves as the fundamental framework from which the other theories arise. Lesson 20: Post-Cold War American Foreign Policy With the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the United States found itself in a new type of world. With its main enemy in shambles, both economically and politically, America was more able than before to pursue national goals and objectives without a great fear of a Soviet response. American foreign policy in the post-Cold War Era reflected these changed realities. First, America was able to focus on important international threats to peace and security, such as in the Middle East and in the Koreas, without being fearful of Soviet meddling or influence. This allowed America to steer negotiations in its favor and to engage the regions more directly and more aggressively. Second, American foreign policy sought to consolidate its power as the sole dominant global power by encircling its former and current enemies. Nato was expanded, new free trade agreements signed, and American capital flowed more freely into inaccessible or unstable countries. Globalization, fundamentally the product of capital outpourings, increased at a frightening pace following the end of the Cold War. Finally, America has sought to promote and export its political philosophy and economic system abroad while simultaneously labeling anyone whom disagrees as radicals or terrorists. In short, the post-Cold War foreign policy climate has been marked by a foreign policy designed to preserve American dominance, to institute a broader capitalist system, and to attack opponents by labeling them terrorists and forging ahead frontier-style. Lesson 21: United States Global Policy in the Future The world never stays the same and the United States of America will likely have to anticipate changing realities if it is to retain its position in the world. First, there are more pressures on natural resources. This may be oil, water, or even food. America must position itself, both technologically and militarily, if it wants to dominate discussions on these issues in the future. Second, there are new aspiring powers and legitimate competitors. Both China and India are large, upgrading their militaries, and demanding more natural resources from tight markets. Conflicts are inevitable; America must be prepared to minimize such conflicts or to prevail. Finally, the people that make-up America are changing. The ethnic base is changing, the secular versus religious divide is growing, and people are feeling less secure about their present and their future. America’s global policy, therefore will be shaped most by pressures on natural resources, new aspiring powers, and changing domestic demographic patterns and demands. Only a fool would not be thinking about all of these factors when devising America global policy for the future. Works Cited Read More