Discuss the impact of thousands of lobbyists in Washington DC and billions of dollars spent every year to change federal policies. Is it effective in changing national policies? Explain.
A huge sum of money and a multitude of influential persons influence significantly most of the laws and legislations that get enacted around the globe. This trend undoubtedly employs to lobbying tactics in Washington D.C. where lobbying influences the change in federal policies. One of the early lobbying acts happened in 1792 Moise Kean Jersey , in which the veterans of the Continental Army from Virginia sent William Hull to Washington, D.C. to petition for higher compensation for them. The term 鈥渓obbyists鈥?got used by President Grant in America to mean the influence peddlers who tried to bribe him with whiskey and cigars so that he could give them political favors. Until the passing of the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act (LDA) in 1946 lobbying was unregulated in the nation. The Act required lobbyists to get registered with the secretary of the state and the clerk of the house. President Clinton signed the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) in 1995 to expand the coverage of lobbyists so that it included individuals who spent at least 20 percent of their time lobbying. Any firm that spends at least 10 000 dollars annually on lobbying activity gets required by the law to report twice a year. The firm also has to reveal the money spent in the first six months, the names of the lobbyists Medhi Benatia Jersey , the concerns it lobbied and the respective government agencies it lobbied.
Lobbying is ineffective in changing federal policies of the state. There is a feeble link between money and policy change hence lobbyists are ineffective since the balance of power in political arena leans towards the wealthy (Pinkman, 2010). Actions related to campaign contributions and lobbying may lead to a dampen economic growth through a practice called rent seeking. It is a process that entails seeking income through particular government favor rather than using productive economic ways. Rent seeking by lobbying firms results in adverse impacts that include utilization of resources and time in an attempt to look for a greater piece of economic pie for self while pursuing policies that are wasteful, inefficient or even dangerous. The passing of federal policies basing on lobbying leads to a waste of billion of taxes on unnecessary or wasteful projects. The money gets redistributed from one part of the society to the rent-seekers. Rent-seeking leads to a net societal loss that endangers the economy of the nation. Rent-seeking entails spending money so as to influence a division of profits. Lobbyists use both legal actions (such as lobbying and political contributions) and illegal activities (such as corruption and bribery) when rent-seeking from public institutions and enterprises. Also Mattia De Sciglio Jersey , rent-seeking policies are destructive as they result in letting resources stay unused. In the United States the recession or its aftermath, the workers lost their jobs yet significant capital remained unused on the sidelines (Craig & Madland, 2014)
Choose a current policy issue. Discuss this issue regarding the stages of the policy-making process.
Public policies get made through a process that entails certain actions recommended to result in the formulation of a quality policy. The public policy making entails of four stages namely agenda-setting the stage Marko Pjaca Jersey , the formulation of policy proposals, authoritative decision-making and implementation policy (Anderson, 2014). The policy may Mario Mandzukic Jersey , however, get subjected to a fifth stage referred to as policy evaluation in which the policy can get returned to the earlier stages as it gets redesigned, contracted Mario Lemina Jersey , expanded or terminated. The policy making process has however got subjected to the policy-making process. The sequence shows a linear order to policy making that symbolizes the rational decision-making paradigm. The public policy making process in the US is more chaotic than the sequential process portrays. The decisions made at any phase of the policy process can feedback to earlier phases creating loops and policy dead ends.
This section discusses policy making regarding terrorism. Counterterrorism is one of the appropriate strategies necessary in safeguarding the United States. Appropriate federal policies have to get formulated and implemented so as to ensure that American citizens are safe within and outside the borders of United States. The stages get described below;