Us government / public policy

US Government / Public Policy

of the of the Concerned 22 November US Government/Public Policy It is but obvious that the primary functionof the governments is to govern and good governance requires the contriving of apt and effective public policies. The public policies framed by the US government have their origins in the society in the sense that public policies are but actions that are affiliated to some worthy purpose and are goal oriented, which are taken by the US government to deal with and tackle societal problems. Public policies formulated by the government may pertain to fiscal, legal, societal, monetary or other such important issues.
The framing of public policy by the government is sequential in its scope and the first step in this sequence primarily happens to be the identification of the issue or problem regarding which the public policy is to be formulated (Shafritz 56). For the policy to be framed regarding a particular issue, it is imperative that that issues comes on the government agenda (Shafritz 56). To do this the issue has to be serious and should be of such immediate societal importance that it attracts the government attention (Shafritz 56). For instance America is a capitalist society and the legal system in America allows for the creation and functioning of the labor unions. Yet, if at some time a significant section of the American society feels that the labor unions are inhibiting the essential functioning of a free market economy, than it will get imperative for the government to take this issues on its agenda, before it frames laws regarding this problem. Similarly, if at some time the people feel that welfare measures taken by the state or the corporations are leading to the wastage of tax payers’ money and are encouraging people to not to work, such a situation will certainly alleviate this issue to the official government agenda. In the current globalized scenario, outsourcing has emerged to be an issue and many Americans believe that it is depriving the American worker of jobs and adding to unemployment. No wonder, this pressure exerted by the public opinion, proactively voiced by the popular media and formal and informal public representatives and forums has brought the issue of outsourcing on the Obama administration’s agenda.
Once a policy issue comes on the agenda, the government weighs varied policy solutions at its disposal that is it evaluates the multiple policy solutions (Gerston 133). Once a solution is selected, it becomes imperative for the government to accrue the support of both the public and the legislatures around it. This process of garnering support for a policy solution is known as policy legitimization and it involves much bargaining and trade-offs between the government, public groups, opposition, courts, pressure groups and other concerned stakeholders (Fischer 205). This assures that the best solutions get selected. Than such policy solutions are solemnized into a bill that goes before the Congress to be legislated. Once this bill gets legislated by the Congress, it is used to extend guidelines to the institutions and agencies responsible for implementing this policy. For instance if the Congress mandates a policy pertaining to outsourcing, it is the corporations and regulating bodies who will be expected to implement this policy.
Hence, policy framing in the US is a multi layered process, subject to inputs from varied sections of the society, involving much debate and compromise, thereby assuring that the best policies get framed.
Works Cited
Fischer, Frank. Reframing Public Policy. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Print.
Gerston, Larry N. Public Policy Making. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe, 1997. Print.
Shafritz, Jay M. Defining Public Administration. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000. Print.