Legal Precedent: Judicial Review
The controversy over judicial power is intensified by the fact that federal judges are not elected. The balance of power among the three branches of government comes into particular focus in the exercise of judicial review. Whenever the Supreme Cou...
Voices of the People: Commitment to Civic Duty
Why do some people feel a commitment to civic duty while others are either apathetic or hostile toward the system? In the mid-20th century the public was more optimistic regarding government and politics. As a result of the Vietnam War and Watergate...
Federal Workplace, The: Pervasiveness of the Federal Bureaucracy, The
It is almost impossible to go through an hour of the day without coming into contact with some aspect of the federal bureaucracy. The government's enormous administrative capacity makes it possible for the United States to have an ambitious array of...
The Nation's Welfare: Court and Public Assistance Programs, The
The court has placed its imprint on public assistance programs by correcting the disparities in welfare benefits among states. Most of the cases that have come before the court era were clear examples of discrimination against African Americans. Wha...
The Nation's Welfare: Two Divergent Tiers of the American Welfare State, The
As the number of people on welfare roles increased, concern over the cost of public assistance programs grew. By contrast, investment in social insurance programs that benefit the middle class were politically popular, nationally uniform, and immune...
Federal Workplace, The: Well-intentioned Red Tape Impedes Efficiency
When there is a problem in the federal workplace, Congress or the regulatory apparatus of the bureaucracy itself will add a new law or rule. The result is thousands of pages of regulations that grind work to a halt. Requirements related to due proce...
The Fourth Estate: Conflictual Nature of Politics Linked to Press, The
Is the competitive nature of the press changing the way public affairs are conducted or just the way we look at government? Politics has become more strident and rancorous, a dynamic many blame on the media. Too often politicians argue from a confli...