Public Policy Commons^™

Community Voices: New State Voting Districts In Final Stages, Carroy U. Ferguson Dr.

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

Last week the Massachusetts Legislature produced redistricting legislation that will forever change the direction of state politics for blacks, Latinos and Asians. By this time next year, the number of state house elected officials of color can increase by 100 percent, from 10 to 20 members. And communities of color will be well positioned to elect a person of color to the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in the history of the state.

Legal Mechanization Of Corporate Social Responsibility Through Alien Tort Statute Litigation: A Response To Professor Branson With Some Supplemental Thoughts, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This Response argues that as ATS jurisprudence “matures” or becomes more sophisticated, the legitimate limits of the law regress. The further expansion within the corporate defendant pool – attempting to pin liability on parent, great grandparent corporations and up to the top – raises the stakes and complexity of ATS litigation. The corporate social responsibility discussion raises three principal issues about how a moral corporation lives its life: how a corporation chooses its self-interest versus the interests of others, when and how it should help others if control decisions may harm the shareholder owners, and how far the corporation must …

What Is A "Constitutional Conservative" Anyway?, Brian Glenn

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Housing The Working Poor, Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier

No abstract provided.

What Is A Reasonable Compromise On Health Care Reform?, Peter Dreier

Peter Dreier

No abstract provided.

Nixon’S Super-Secretaries: The Last Grand Presidential Reorganization Effort (2010), By Mordecai Lee, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

No abstract provided.

Where Does The Buck Stop? Applying Attribution Theory To Examine Public Appraisals Of The President, Cigdem V. Sirin, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

This study applies attribution theory to examine public appraisals of the president. To date, most political science research on attribution theory has focused on domestic policy and no work has considered both domestic and foreign policy domains in tandem. To fill this gap, we formulate and experimentally test a series of hypotheses regarding the level of responsibility and credit/blame that individuals attribute to the president in both policy domains across varying policy conditions. We also consider how party compatibility affects people’s attribution judgments. Our findings provide a new contribution to the literature on political attributions, executive accountability, and public perceptions …

Promises And Human Rights: The Obama Administration On Immigrant Detention Policy Reform, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

This article evaluates the Obama administration’s efforts towards reforming U.S. immigration detention policies. Over the past decade, immigrant rights advocates have increasingly criticized certain policies of the U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) system of immigration detention, including the widespread use of private contractors, lack of proper oversight, grouping of violent criminals and non-violent undocumented immigrants (particularly minority women and children) in holding cells, and neglect of detained immigrants in need of medical attention. In reviewing these developments, I contend that the Obama administration must take substantive steps towards reforming the existing system, particularly by instituting legally enforceable standards with …

Privatization As A Strategy In The United Kingdom, United States, And Beyond,”, Brian J. Glenn

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Do State Policies Constrain Local Actors? The Impact Of English Only Laws On Language Instruction In Public Schools, Melissa Marschall, Elizabeth Rigby, Jasmine Jenkins

Elizabeth Rigby

This study examines how instrumental and symbolic messages embedded in state law shape the practices of ‘street-level’ bureaucrats. Specifically, we investigate whether passage of state-level English Only laws influences the way English language learners are instructed in local public schools. Using data on state English Only laws from 1987-2004 and school-level data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, we find that instrumental aspects of English Only laws serve to constrain, but not eliminate, schools’ use of bilingual instruction, while those sending only symbolic messages are less constraining. Further, when state laws are vague in scope, adherence to the English …

Direct Democracy And Minority Rights: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In The American States, Daniel Lewis

Daniel Lewis

Objectives: A common critique of direct democracy posits that minority rights are endangered by citizen legislative institutions. By allowing citizens to directly create public policy, these institutions avoid the filtering mechanisms of representative democracy that provide a check on the power of the majority. Empirical research, however, has produced conflicting results that leave the question of direct democracy's effect on minority rights open to debate. This article seeks to empirically test this critique using a comparative, dynamic approach.

Methods: I examine the diffusion of same-sex marriage bans in the United States using event-history analysis, comparing direct-democracy states to non-direct-democracy states. …

Bypassing The Representational Filter? Minority Rights Policies Under Direct Democracy Institutions, Daniel Lewis

Daniel Lewis

One common critique of direct democracy posits that minority rights are endangered by institutions like ballot initiatives and referenda. Empirical research testing this claim, however, has produced conflicting results that leave the question of direct democracy’s effect on minority rights open to debate. This study extends previous research by providing a more direct test of this criticism—it compares anti-minority policy proposals from direct democracy states to similar proposals from states without direct democracy institutions. The author examines both ballot proposals and traditional legislative bills to account for both the direct and indirect effects of direct democracy. Analyzing anti-minority proposals from …

On Equality: The Anti-Interference Principle, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

This Essay introduces the “Anti-Interference Principle” – a new term on the meaning of equality, or at least one not yet so-named in the equality lexicon – as a necessary foundation for achieving the goal of true equality. Equality has a long-standing place in the discussion of politics and jurisprudence and remains a struggle of definition today. Rather than rehash the mass of scholarship, this Essay seeks to summarize the general equality concept, and propose that the legal discourse on equality center on a requirement that governmental power must protect and respect equal treatment and opportunity, unconstrained, not equal outcomes. …

Federal Food Assistance Programs: Part Of The Early Childhood Obesity Solution Or Part Of The Problem?, Elizabeth Rigby, Rachel Kimbro

Elizabeth Rigby

Amid growing concern about childhood obesity, the United States spends billions of dollars on food assistance: providing meals and subsidizing food purchases. We examine the relationship between food assistance and body mass index (BMI) for young, low-income children, who are a primary target population for federal food programs and for efforts to prevent childhood obesity. Our findings indicate that food assistance may unintentionally contribute tot he childhood obesity problem in cities with high food prices. We also find that subsidized meals at school or day care are beneficial for children's weight status, and we argue that expanding access to subsidized …

Long Lines At Polling Stations? Observations From An Election Day Field Study, Douglas M. Spencer, Zachary S. Markovits

Douglas M. Spencer

This pilot study represents the first systematic attempt to determine how common lines are on Election Day, at what times of day lines are most likely to form, what are the bottlenecks in the voting process, and how long it takes an average citizen to cast his or her ballot. This study highlights the importance of evaluating polling station operations as a three-step process: arrival, check-in, and casting a ballot. We collected data during the 2008 presidential primary election in California, measuring the efficiency of the operational components of 30 polling stations across three counties. We found statistically significant, and …

Conservatism And American Political Development, Brian Glenn

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Review Of Timothy J. Sullivan. New York State And The Rise Of Modern Conservatism: Redrawing Party Lines. (State University Of New York Press, 2008), Brian Glenn

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Whose Statehouse Democracy?: Policy Responsiveness To Poor Vs. Rich Constituents In Poor Vs. Rich States, Elizabeth Rigby, Gerald C. Wright

Elizabeth Rigby

No abstract provided.

Does Electoral Reform Increase (Or Decrease) Political Equality?, Elizabeth Rigby, Melanie J. Springer

Elizabeth Rigby

Over recent decades, the American states have implemented electoral reforms making it easier for citizens to register and vote. This paper examines the “equality effects” of these reforms: the degree to which reform serves to equalize or further skew participation rates between the rich and poor. Using the Voter Supplement to the Current Population Survey, we generate state-level estimates of income bias in registration and voting for elections from 1978-2008. Findings support our theory that some electoral reforms promote equality, while others further stratify the electorate—particularly when state registration rolls are already unrepresentative in terms of income groups.

White House Staff, Justin S. Vaughn, José D. Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

The White House Staff provides the bureaucratic framework that makes presidential leadership possible. Even though modern presidents continue to face constraints by the constitutional structure and political reality in successfully straddling the expectations gap that continues to enlarge, the staff presents the president with his best opportunity to anticipate and exploit leadership opportunities in the best case and manage crisis and cope with challenges in the worst. In recent decades, scholarly efforts to analyze the influence and importance of the White House staff has continued apace the institution’s own evolution. In this chapter, we evaluate the state of these efforts …

Public Values, Health Inequality, And Alternative Notions Of A “Fair” Response, Elizabeth Rigby, Erika Blacksher, Claire Espey

Elizabeth Rigby

The fact that disadvantaged people generally die younger and suffer more disease than those with more resources is gaining ground as a major policy concern in the United States. Yet, we know little about how public values inform public opinion regarding policy interventions to address these disparities. This paper presents findings from an exploratory study of the public’s values and priorities as they relate to social inequalities in health. Forty-three subjects were presented with a scenario depicting health inequalities by social class and were given the opportunity to alter the distribution of health outcomes. Participants’ responses fell into one of …

Revolt Against The Czars: Why Barack Obama’S Staffing Critics Are (Mostly) Wrong, José D. Villalobos, Justin S. Vaughn

José D. Villalobos

Rather than view the alleged proliferation of “czars” in recent presidential administrations as a threat to the constitutional order, we consider it part of an ongoing reorganization of the presidential branch designed to maximize leadership capacity as presidents continue to take more responsibility for policy development and implementation, a phenomenon driven as much by congressional abdication as presidential zeal for power. The real debate lies over whether the president can delegate his constitutional authority to those who work beneath him. We posit that presidents may choose to delegate within their own discretion, so long as it is within the limits …

Black Tuesday And Graying The Legitimacy Line For Governmental Intervention: When Tomorrow Is Just A Future Yesterday, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Black Tuesday in October 1929 marked a major crisis in American history. As we face current economic woes, it is appropriate to recall not only the event but also reflect on how it altered the legal landscape and the change it precipitated in the acceptance of governmental intervention into the marketplace. Perceived or real crises can cause us to dance between free markets and regulatory power. Much like the events of 1929, current financial concerns have led to new, unprecedented governmental intervention into the private sector. This Article seeks caution, on the basis of history, arguing that fear and crisis …

The Obama Administration's Challenges After The 'War On Science': Reforming Staffing Practices And Protecting Scientific Integrity In The Executive Branch, Justin Vaughn, José Villalobos

José D. Villalobos

In this article, we examine the difficult leadership position President Barack Obama inherited as he took office with respect to science and technology policy making and implementation, particularly following the Bush administration and years of the so-called "war on science." We contend that the Obama administration's challenge is not only to take substantive policy action, but also to reform certain administrative practices, particularly in light of the previous administration's practice of the politics of strategic vacancies, a managerial technique that rearranges an agency's ideological inclinations not through the usual forms of active politicization (i.e., by filling the appointee ranks with …

Self-Interest, Symbolic Attitudes, And Support For Public Policy: A Multilevel Analysis, Richard Lau, Caroline Heldman

Caroline Heldman

This paper examines the role of self-interest and symbolic attitudes as predictors of support for two domestic policy issues—guaranteed jobs and incomes and national health insurance—in the American National Election Survey (ANES) between 1972 and 2004. As was the case in 1976 when Sears, Lau, Tyler, and Allen (1980) first explored this topic, symbolic attitudes continue to be much more important predictors of policy attitudes than various indicators of self-interest over the 30 years we analyze. We explore this finding further to determine whether any individual/internal and external/contextual variables affect the magnitude of self-interest effects on policy support. Five possible …

The Mirror Effect, The Law Of Attraction, And "Points Of Attraction" That Can Nurture The Evolution Of Human Consciousness, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

This message has several purposes. First, I want to express my immense joy that Chip Baggett and I are serving as Co-Presidents of AHP since August 16, 2009. In my view, Chip and I are long-time friends, who have a transcendent connection and synergistic energies. My desire and intent is for our co-presidency to mirror the effect(s) of synergistic collaboration as a “point of attraction” that can assist in the evolution of human consciousness across often “perceived personal and societal boundaries” (e.g., race, culture, ethnicity, class, individual and collective belief systems, and dogma). More generally, however, this message is intended …

Archetypal Energies, The Emergence Of Obama As A Practical Idealist, And Global Transformation, Carroy U. Ferguson

Carroy U "Cuf" Ferguson, Ph.D.

During this time of change, AHP and kindred spirits on the edge have important roles to play. We are the keepers and nurturers of a transformative and evolutionary Vision for Consciousness and a more humane world. At issue is what I will call the “psychic politics” for global transformation, nurtured by practical idealism and the Archetypal Energies. In other writings, I have described Archetypal Energies as Higher Vibrational Energies, operating deep within our individual and collective psyches, which have their own transcendent value, purpose, quality, and “voice”, unique to the individual. We experience them as “creative urges” to move us …

Media Framing And Policy Change After Columbine, Thomas Birkland, Regina Lawrence

Thomas A Birkland

The 1999 Columbine school shooting incident in Colorado gained far more media attention across a broader range of issues than any school violence episode before or since. One might expect that Columbine would have had an influence on public opinion, public policy, and scholarship commensurate with the attention it gained. We find that the event did contribute in a limited but interesting way to scholarship on media framing. But the effect of Columbine on public opinion and the nature and substance of public policy was limited. Attention to school shootings peaked with Columbine, and the attention surrounding that event mostly …

Conservatism And American Political Development, Brian Glenn, Steve Teles

Brian J. Glenn

No abstract provided.

Presidential Staffing And Public Opinion: How Public Opinion Influences Politicization, José Villalobos, Justin Vaughn

José D. Villalobos

Scholars traditionally frame presidential efforts to politicize the federal bureaucracy as the result of divergence between the president's preferences and an agency's output. The authors argue that presidential concern with agency output is dynamic and is in part conditioned by the president's relationship with the public. To assess the relationship between politicization and public opinion, the authors use a data set that combines information on presidential efforts to politicize the Council of Economic Advisers from 1989 to 2004 with that of public attitudes concerning the president's handling of the economy. Their results indicate that public opinion does indeed bear a …