Discuss the characteristics of the federal bureaucracy and explain why it is so complex

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Bureaucratic power tends to take on a life of its own. In the 1930s, the scope of government was extended greatly during the Great Depression to deal with labor-management relations, public welfare, and the regulation of the securities markets. With dramatic increases in technology and increasing demands from the public that the government "do something" about problems facing society, the government has grown still more in recent decades. Much of the actual functioning of the government is carried on by its bureaucracy. The governmental bureaucracy has been able to perpetuate itself and expand because many of its employees have highly specialized knowledge and skills and cannot be replaced easily by "outsiders." In addition, as the United States has grown in size and complexity, public policy is increasingly made by bureaucrats rather than by elected officials. The executive branch is also highly bureaucratized. The federal budget is the central ingredient in the bureaucracy. Another way in which special interest groups exert a powerful influence on the bureaucracy is the iron triangle of power—a three-way arrangement in which a private interest group (usually a corporation), a congressional committee or subcommittee, and a bureaucratic agency make the final decision on a political issue that is to be decided by that agency. This is exemplified by the alliance among the Defense Department (Pentagon), private military (or defense) contractors, and members of Congress.