William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

The human face of the bureaucracy 475

The Human Face of the Bureaucracy

The term “bureaucrat” applies to a wide range of people with different qualifications and

job descriptions. The federal government includes so many different kinds of jobs because

of the vast array of services it provides (see Figure 13.2). This section describes who

these people are and the terms of their government employment.

Although citizens and politicians often complain about the efficiency or

motivations of federal bureaucrats, surveys show that many employees in these

positions have a strong interest in public service or the implementation of good

public policy. In fact, these motivations are often strong enough that scholars

DESCRIBE WHO

BUREAUCRATS ARE

AND THE REGULATIONS

THAT GOVERN THEIR

EMPLOYMENT

TA B L E

13.2

Source: Pew Research Center, “With Budget

Debate Looming, Growing Share of Public

Prefers Bigger Government,” April 17, 2017,

http://www.people-press.org (accessed 5/17/18).

Policy area Percent favoring reduction

Veterans’ benefits 3

Education 9

Rebuilding highways, bridges 7

Medicare 9

Health care 18

Scientific research 12

Military defense 20

Environmental protection 19

Antiterrorism in the United States 11

Social Security 6

Assistance to needy in United States 21

Assistance to unemployed 24

Assistance to needy in the world 31%

State Department and embassies 23

Public Opinion

on Spending

Cuts

Many Americans complain about

the size of the federal government.

However, their complaints do not

translate into support for reductions

in policy areas or cuts in specific

programs that could significantly

reduce spending. Based on these data,

are there any kinds of proposals for

significantly reducing the size of the

federal government that might attract

widespread support?

“Why

Should

I Care?”

You might think that the government spends too much and that the bureaucracy is

too large. The questions you have to ask yourself are: What am I willing to sacrifice to

make government smaller? Am I OK with a smaller military, fewer regulations on banks

and credit card companies, less oversight of food and drug safety? And how much

money would these changes actually save? We have a large, costly federal government

because, in the end, most people want it that way.

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