Running head: THE POLICYMAKING PROCESS - FINAL PROJECT 1

The Policymaking Process - Final Project

Kimberly Davis

POL 110

June 1, 2014

Morgan Loew

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The Policymaking Process - Final ProjectAccording to "Examples of Public Policy" (n.d.), "Public policy refers to the laws, the

actions of the state, the funding priorities and the regulations that reflect given positions,

attitudes, cultural ideals or accepted rules" (para. 2). Public policy compartmentalizes certain

issues and the categories they fall under. It is a process that influences many factors in how

decisions are made. When courts and lawmakers consider whether to pass a law, give something

priority, or rule in a certain way, they do so because of public policy. Citizens can help influence

public policy by compiling substantial data that shows that certain problems in society exist.

Local, state and federal organizations all craft and implement public policy to protect and benefit

their citizens.

Policy categories classify what politics does and how they do it. In order to accomplish

the policies, there are three basic functions, distribution, regulation and redistribution.

Distribution is where a government distributes society's resources, such as wealth, services, or

other things of value when it provides benefits to specific groups in that society. The term that

plays out in every election is pork barrel spending, and when undertaken by the legislature, such

distribution is often given a negative label, because it seems designed to bring credit to the

legislator who first thought of it and brought it to the table. (Shea, Green, & Smith, 2011).

Examples of distribution are when the government provides aid to another country after a

devastating disaster that destroys their resources, or when they give help to citizens who are less

fortunate to help them attain higher goals. "Regulation takes place when the government uses

legislative, military or judicial power to stop the action by a person, organization, or group or

when it mandates other behaviors or actions." (Shea, Green, & Smith, 2011, p. 540). An

example would be regulating oil companies and ensuring that they take responsibility when

something goes wrong. Here in Louisiana in 2006 the British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon oil

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rig disaster claimed eleven lives and destroyed our wetlands. We were still recovering from

Hurricane Katrina, and BP is now appealing their case. As residents, we often wonder what

regulations were in place and how come they did not work. There were many campaigns started

to protest against BP and to ensure that they paid. These regulations ensure that they are held

accountable. Redistribution is the third one and is very similar to the distribution but instead of a

specific group benefiting from the actions of government, a much larger segment of society

receives goods or services (Shea, Green, & Smith, 2011, p. 540). This one gets tricky and is the

most difficult policies to make happen. To accomplish this, you have to tax working people to

give to the poor, and this often causes a problem for those people.

The policy process model is a good tool to show us how policies are made in terms of

steps in the progression. There are five steps, and they first identify the policy problem, set the

agenda, formulate a solution, legitimize the solution, implement the solution and last evaluate it.

Citizens can influence public policy by showing that problems do exist. Compiling data, marches

and petitions show the government where the problems are and how they can help fix them.

Citizens are on the front line, and we are the ones who see when there are problems with our

services. Our officials often do not get to see this. Proposals can be created to resolve the issues

that are affecting average citizens. Proposals can be taken to and legitimized through

representatives. Grass roots campaigns, emails, phone calls, letters and town hall meetings can

alert the representatives to the problems and opinions of the voters. There are several avenues of

impact when it comes to informing and influencing the way our officials implement the laws.

An example of a public policy that has helped me is Obamacare. My husband lost his job

earlier this year and with it our health insurance. I understand both sides of the debate but in my

case, I get high quality healthcare at an affordable rate. I understand that this is hurting some and

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that part I do not agree with, but in the end, I have to take care of my family, and the policies that

are set forth in the health care reform have helped my husband and me.

Citizens have the right to come together and lobby and rally until a policy is

implemented. By going through the right channels and compiling pertinent data, and contacting

the correct people, average citizens can make the process of policy making so much easier. If

people take a positive approach in making our representatives aware of everyday situations that

need to be handled, and use the right pathways in their approach, public policy making is much

easier.

References

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Examples of Public Policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples/examples-of-public-policy.html

Shea, D. M., Green, J. C., & Smith, C. E. (2011). Living Democracy, National

Edition (3rd ed.). Longman.