Bureaucracy & The Cabinet Departments

If it is associated with the federal government and has:
  - a formal structure
  - a division of labor
  - a set of rules/procedures by which it operates
then it is most likely a part of the bureaucracy.

3 models of bureaucracy
- Weberian model
   bureaucracies are rational, hierarchical organizations in which decisions are made based on logival reasoning
- Acquisitive model
    bureaucracies are led by people who seek to grow their budget and staff to gain greater power
- Monopolistic model
    bureaucracies lack competition, leading them be inefficient and costly operations




All organized under the Executive Branch
Employs about 2.7 million people
Top administrators are political appointees
Most other bureaucrats are knowledgeable/skilled employees



Executive Departments
Major units of administration and policy making
Headed by Secretary
Account for roughly 60% of all government employees (see Figure 14-1 on p.486)
Often smaller departments within each executive department
Only 3 departments to start with (State, Treasury, War)
New departments often created when issues became to big for Congress to legislate solutions
Currently 15 departments
Homeland Security is the most recent addition
Defense Department is largest Executive Department by far
     over 3 million employees and budget of $480 billion in 2008

The Cabinet & the Vice Presidency

3 main roles of the Vice President per the Constitution
- presiding over the Senate
- opening and counting electoral votes after presidential election
- serving as President should the President become incapacitated

Throughout American history, the role of the Vice President has changed. Early on, it merely entailed performing those tasks laid out above and waiting around in case the President may die. After the ratification of the 12th Amendment (requiring electors to cast one vote for President and one vote for Vice President), political parties started to pair the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate together on 'the ticket'. This pairing of candidates led politically minded leaders to start trying to balance their ticket to make the candidacy of 'the ticket' more attractive to more voters. The Vice Presidency itself however, was still not seen as a job opportunity one would desire. The role of the Vice President has grown since the 70s into a position that serves as an extension of the President himself. The Vice President is often consulted regularly on policy decisions and will be tasked with executing certain duties (being point-man / head executive) on behalf of the President.

The Best of Joe Biden

And don't forget former Vice President Dick Cheney

Advisory: Censored word (based on exchange between VP Dick Cheney & Sen Patrick Leahey)

The Cabinet
- consists of the heads (Secretary) of each of the executive departments (State, Defense, Treasury, etc)
- serves as advisory council to the President
- Secretary is nominated by President ( and ......)
- 16 official Cabinet positions, incl Vice President
- advice sought but not relied upon
- "kitchen cabinets"
- Cabinet Secretaries often more loyal to their department than the President

The Executive Office of the President

Who is "the administration" that they are always talking about?
Many of these people work in the Executive Office of the President (EOP).

I don't know what's up with the foreign subtitles.

Executive Office of the President
- The White House Office (The West Wing)
see chart on p.182

There was a television show: The West Wing

- National Security Council (NSC)

- Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)

yawn

- Office of Management & Budget (OMB)