Key Elements Of Policymaking

To understand public policy is to essentially understand what key elements in the environment sway policymaking. Keeping in mind that public policy in the United States alludes to a course of action or inaction taken by actors purposive to solve the problems or matters of concern amongst the citizens. Many key elements exist that affect the policy environment such as; socioeconomic conditions, time and nongovernmental participants. People are unique in the way they think, process information and in capabilities and it is precisely why socioeconomic conditions are a key factor in swaying public policy. For instance, James E. Anderson makes the claim that those having more education are more likely to earn more and vote then those with less of
One other key element in the policymaking process is, time. In the systemic American political arena, policymaking is carried out by a convocation of officials with the political power to formulate and develop public policy. Anderson notes that much time and effort are required to sum up policy making decisions, and it regularly takes years to adopt and act on legislation (Anderson 38). Another aspect of time to consider is the current events occurring the shape and influence the public opinion and political activities. Comparatively, today we are experiencing major gun legislation, because the events that occurred within recent times are inducing the public to push advocacy for gun control policy. As noted by Anderson, Professor Karl W. Deutsch sets forth that people’s time assimilation corresponds with their view of the relative importance of the past, present and our future which has deep implications on the policy environment and is why time is a key element swaying policymaking (Anderson 44). In addition, we have nongovernmental actors who affect the environment of policy decision making through active political
Public policy is the principled action to solve problems our citizens are faced with. A complex system encompassing a multitude of people and opinions to help decide what is best for the public good. Government agenda is affected by many factors a few are; political priorities, the different stakeholders, and available resources. There are many problems the American public would like addressed by making to government agenda, however not all the concerns the public has can be addressed. Political priorities refer to the demands that compel policymakers to act on the issue and establish agenda status. Political Scientist Robert Eyestone declares that, “An issue arises when a public with a problem seeks or demands governmental action, and there is a public disagreement over the best solution to the problem” (Anderson 95). Particular issues of crisis take precedence like, homelessness, health-care, and terrorism. Comparatively we see crisis taking precedence in respects to the 9/11 national security crisis, where alleged Islamic terrorists executed attacks on the American public. In the case of Sea Change: Re-Writing the Rules for Port Security illustrated by Pamela Varley, the 9/11 attacks resulted in political priorities where to ensure the public safety was considered urgent. The Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress conjointly improved the port security, along with International Maritime Organization (IMO), and a UN organization. In this case the crisis was