POLI330N Week 6 Discussion samples
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Hello professor and class,
Option #1
I have chosen
option 1
for my discussion.
According to
Greenberg and Page (2018),
bureaucracy affects us all in everyday life in some
way. When I think of bureaucracy in recent times I think of the CDC during the pandemic. As the
nation’s public health protection agency, CDC has certain authorities to implement regulations
related to protecting America from health and safety threats, both foreign and within the United
States, and increasing public health security. The CDC and other agencies carry out public health
laws passed by Congress through Federal Regulations. When a Congressional bill becomes law,
federal agencies can be in authority for putting the law into place through regulations or rules.
Federal regulations give the public conditions of how laws will be applied. The method of
forming regulations or rules is called rulemaking. When recommendations do not become laws,
they are not enforced, merely guidelines and recommendations for the betterment of the public
(CDC, 2016). The CDC made recommendations along the way during pandemic like wearing
masks, social distancing and limiting social gatherings. Although the CDC gave
recommendations to prevent or ease the spread of Covid the guidelines were not legally
enforced. In Florida, our Governor Ron DeSantis was continually very vocal about them being
recommendations and NOT laws. Despite the numbers of Covid cases high, Hospitals
overwhelmed, tents as ERs in parking lots and record-breaking deaths he held steady on
removing fines and legal enforcing that had to do with mask recommendations, lack of
distancing and restaurant/bar capacities. “Efforts to shape policy through rulemaking are often
politically controversial, with leaders across American legislatures questioning whether too much
policymaking authority is concentrated in the executive branch. Indeed, bolstering the separation
of powers and restoring legislative control over the bureaucracy has become a goal of party
leaders in Congress and in state legislatures” (Boushey, 2020). There has been much research
into the landscape of the decision-making activity as well as problem solving, it can be viewed as
an attempt to study the promise of development and change within organizations or the public. It
can present answers to questions in the issues of bureaucracy. What makes people inclined to
react in one way or the other to bureaucracy (Bolfikov, 2019). I think of recommendations or
bureaucracy as more of what is safe, right, or wrong and being respectful of others. I personally
do not have a problem with these guidelines as I try to look at the overall greater picture. When
processes are in place for the greater good of our communities it makes us safer and more
successful as a community.
References
Bolfikov, E., Pirohova, I., Hrehova, D., Lukac, M., Mayer, K., &Lenhardtová, M. (2019).
Bureaucracy and Creative Complexity – Empirical Analysis of Problem Solving Effectiveness
Within Organizations.
SociologijaiProstor
, 65–91. https://doi.org/10.5673/sip.57.1.4
Boushey, Graeme T., & McGrath, Robert J. (2020). Does Partisan Conflict Lead to Increased
Bureaucratic Policymaking? Evidence from the American States.
Journal of Public
Administration Research and Theory, 30
(3), 432-447. https://doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muz030
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2016, June 30).
CDC Regulations
. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention.
https://www.cdc.gov/regulations/index.html
(Links to an
external site.)
Greenberg, E. S & Page, B. I. (2018).
The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates
Edition.
(12th ed.). Pearson.
Option 2
Professor Levy and Class,
In November 2021, President Biden along with the Secretary of Health and Human Services
issued a mandate that all Federal workers as well as any facility that receives funding from
Medicaid/Medicare ensure their employees are vaccinated.
“The rule requires providers to offer
medical and religious exemptions and does not cover staff who telework full-time.”
(supreme
court. page 3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services has the authority from Congress to
announce requirements of any facility that wishes to receive Medicaid/Medicare funding. These
requirements are in place to set standards and protect the patients that receive care at these
facilities. This ruling by the Secretary did not go through the traditional procedures and was
made effective immediately due to the nature of the COVID-19 Delta variant. The Supreme
Court ruled to block the larger of the mandates that would require businesses with 100 or more
employees to be vaccinated; however, they did not block to have all healthcare facilities that
receive funding from Medicaid/Medicare to require vaccinations for all employees. The larger
issue analyzed by the Supreme Court is do agencies such as OHSA have the legal standing to
regulate public health. “I
n the system of separated powers and federalism created by the framers,
the judicial branch, most especially the Supreme Court, assesses, in cases that come before it,
the legitimacy of actions taken by the other two branches and by the states in light of the
Constitution.”
(Greenberg. Page 397)
I do not agree with mandatory vaccination for anyone. I believe that I should have the choice to
make an educated decision for my health and for my body. I also respect others who have a
different belief than I do.
References:
Greenberg, E.S. & Page, B.I. (2018).
The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 elections, and updated
edition
. (12th ed.). Pearson
Supreme Court. JOSEPH R. BIDEN, JR., PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, v.
MISSOURI. 2022. Website
Reviewed.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a240_d18e.pdf
Option 2
Even after reading up on the supreme court and this ruling, I found the information difficult to
follow and understand. The supreme court has the authority to be the deciding factor on a
dispute. As stated by Greenburg and Page (2018), “the supreme court’s most valuable role is to
be U.S. is to be a court of appeals and for the highest courts in all fifty states in which a state or
federal law has been declared unconstitutional can be heard by the Supreme Court, as can cases
in which the highest state court has denied a claim that a state law violates federal law or the
Constitution. It also takes appeals that involve the interpretation of the meaning of federal
statutes and regulations” (p. 405). This role was called into action after Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) tried to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine just last year. On
November 5, 2021, OSHA put into effect a mandate on businesses of more than 100 employees
had to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, but on January 13, 2022, in a ruling on the National
Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) vs. OSHA, the supreme court supported NFIB
against OSHA’s vaccine mandate, intercepting it from taking effect (Supreme Court of the
United States, 2022). A couple of the NFIB’s (2022) arguments were that mandating a vaccine
should be left to Congress and that mandating a vaccine could have huge repercussions such as
cost, lost wages, and labor shortages just to name a few. The Sixth Circuit decided that a stay of
the rule was not justified because OSHA lacks the power to implement such stature (Supreme
Court of the United States, 2022).
I do agree with the court’s decision to hold off on mandating the COVID-19 vaccination
currently. I am not antivax as I do receive other vaccines, but I believe if the public is not
comfortable with taking a vaccine for whatever reasons or beliefs they have, it should be their
choice to make and not one that is forced upon them. The company I work for does mandate the
flu vaccine every year, and they just came out stating they are mandating the COVID-19 vaccine
and the employees need to have at least one vaccine by February 28, 2022, and the second dose
by March 28, 2022, and it is causing havoc at my job.
References
Greenberg, E. S & Page, B. I. (2018).
The struggle for democracy, 2018 elections and updates
edition
(12th ed.). Pearson.
National Federation of Independent Business. (2022, January 20).
Supreme Court rules in
NFIB’s favor, blocking enforcement of OSHA’s vaccine mandate for businesses with 100+
employees
. NFIB.
https://www.nfib.com/content/analysis/coronavirus/supreme-court-rules-in-
nfibs-favor-blocking-enforcement-of-oshas-vaccine-mandate-for-businesses-with-100-
employees/
(Links to an external site.)
Supreme Court of the United States. (2022).
595 U. S
.:
21A244 National Federation of
Independent Business
vs.
OSHA
.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a244_hgci.pdf
(Links to an external
site.)
Option #1
The word bureaucracy is derived from a French phrase and basically means an administration
with a small desk. Today, a bureaucracy is considered a huge administration entity that manages
a government's or society's day-to-day operations (Cook, 2018). In America, the bureaucracy of
government operates at the national, state, as well as local levels (Bennis, 2017).
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The bureaucracy's activities have a wide range of effects on people's lives and freedom. The
division has been organized in such a way that specialization is possible to carry out effectively
the obligations of overseeing, governing, protecting, and improving the lives of citizens.
Bureaucracy impacts our everyday lives and liberties in the same way that education, social
security, safety and health, transportation, markets, the liberties we possess and enjoy, and even
the food we eat and the clean air we breathe daily are all affected. Despite the benefits, the
bureaucracy provides in terms of enhancing the lives of the general public, limiting interest-
driven privatization, and allowing Congress to delegate authority, the bureaucracy as an
organization also has inherent shortcomings. Given the bureaucracy's size, it may have a
complicated line of command, making it notoriously slow to carry out obligations and respond to
certain circumstances.
Additionally, the bureaucracy is viewed as intrinsically political because members are assigned
by politicians rather than elected (Michels et al, 2017). Numerous individuals express concern
that they work for the present government rather than the people. This concern should be
addressed by ensuring that no political ties or affiliation exist between or within the bureaucracy
and administration. Members should be elected by the public and according to certain criteria,
rather than on political or partisan lines. Despite these disadvantages, the author however
believes that bureaucracy has a beneficial effect on people's lives and freedom.
References
Bennis, W.G. (2017).
Beyond bureaucracy
(pp.3-16). Routledge
Cook, B. J. (2018). Bureaucracy and democracy Perils and prospects.
Handbook of American
public administration.
Michels, R., Lipset, S. M., Paul, C. (2017). Political parties:
A sociological study of the
oligarchical tendencies of modern democracy.
Routledge.
Option 2:
On Monday, February 7, 2022, the United Supreme Court ruled to permit racial gerrymandering
to prevail in the state of Alabama. The Supreme Court targeted a key component of the Voting
Rights Act that guaranteed voting protection against gerrymandering, to ensure minority voices
are heard. This ruling nullifies that guarantee and further facilitates the political agenda to dilute
the voting strength of African Americans.
A three-judge panel of the Federal District Court in Birmingham, Alabama ordered for the
congressional map created by state legislatures to be redrawn and to include another second
majority Black district. Instead of supporting this decision, five radical conservative justices
halted the lower court’s attempt to provide political equality amongst Alabama voters, especially
among African American voters. Some Democrats and civil rights activists will argue against this
controversial ruling in the Supreme Court this coming fall. But, conveniently, and very
strategically planned, their arguments will not be heard until after the 2022 elections, with the
current map still in place.
Thomas Revell of the New Scientist (2017) describes a gerrymanderer, as a representative who
attempts to, “ create a small number of districts packed with their opponent's voters, and draws
other seats to spread the remaining vote so there isn't quite enough for a majority” (Revell, 2017,
para. 8). As a result, their opponent will win only a few seats. This method is used to hijack an
election and is referred to as packing and cracking.
To further elaborate, Greenberg and Page (2018), defines cracking as the attempt to, “spread one
party’s voters across multiple districts effectively denying them a majority in any single district”
Greenberg & Page, 2018, p. 305). Moreover, the authors state that packing, “puts voters of the
rival party into one district which gives the other party a huge margin of support in one district,
but cuts its chances of winning seats in multiple districts” Greenberg & Page, 2018, p. 305).
The decision is provisional and open for debate. Justice Kavanaugh provided an explanation and
stated, “When an election is close at hand, the rules of the road must be clear and settled. Late
judicial tinkering with election laws can lead to disruption and to unanticipated and unfair
consequences for candidates, political parties and voters, among others” (Liptak, 2022, para. 10).
In my opinion, he is attempting to justify racial gerrymandering. I could never agree with the
suppression and tampering of American citizens' voting rights. Racial gerrymandering affects
myself, my family, and friends, especially those in Alabama. The support African Americans'
have for their preferred representatives has been weakened by this decision. Black Alabamian
voters will not make an impact in the political sphere unless they constitute a majority of their
district. The new map drawn further dilutes black voting power and the Republicans are well
aware of this. In my opinion no one can justify this, it is an act of oppression, it is an act of
racism. In 2022, and for years to come, citizen’s voting rights and other rights will be dismantled
little by little. The American government is not and by the looks of things, will never fully
evolve into a true state of democracy.
References:
Revell, T. (2017). Something is Rotten in the States. New Scientist, 236(3152), 35–
39.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0262-4079(17)32263-7
(Links to an external site.)
Greenberg, E.S. & Page, B.I. (2018).
The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 elections, and updated
edition.
(12th ed.). Pearson
Liptak, A. (2022, February 7).
Supreme Court restores Alabama voting map that a court said
hurt black voters
. The New York Times. Retrieved February 10, 2022, from
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/07/us/politics/supreme-court-alabama-redistricting-
congressional-map.html
Option 2
: Identify a recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and discuss the nature of
the case and the basis of the argument the Supreme Court used to reach the decision. Explain
why you agree or disagree with the ruling
Hello professor and class,
This past January Biden vs Missouri was heard in Supreme Court regarding mandating covid-19
vaccine to healthcare employees in facilities funded by Medicare/Medicaid patients. In this case,
the Supreme Court is being asked to allow an order in the district court that prevents Biden's
Administration from putting down a regulation that requires specified health workers to get fully
immunized against COVID-19. Biden's Administration believes that Supreme Court should give
a stay since the mandate is authorized by Statutory and enforcing it will benefit the whole public.
Unlike the OSHA mandate vaccine case, the Court holds that the Secretary acted within his
statutory authority (Larkin & Badger, 2021).
The basis of the argument is that the sole responsibility of H.H.S. is ensuring that healthcare
providers that care for Medicaid and Medicare patients must protect the health and safety of
those patients. The Court observed that since the mandate will have widespread impacts and
increase concerns, Congress's express grand of power is needed (Biden v. Missouri, n.d.). On the
other hand, the court discovered that Missouri would suffer irreparable harm if the order were
absent. The Court pointed out that enforcing the mandate would hold back Missouri's power of
enforcing its laws. The Court also pointed out the supposed harm that would happen to the
patients being treated in facilities would feel the effects due to losing unvaccinated staff (Larkin
& Badger, 2021).
I agree with the decision to block the mandate. I personally feel the mandate was
unconstitutional and proposed out of fear. Citizens should not be forced to take a vaccine that
can't be reversed once given without proof of long term affects if taken. The United States is a
country of rights and many freedoms. When this mandate was put in motion it changed the
dynamic of what America stands for and destroyed the morale of the citizens who reside here.
Resources
Larkin, P., & Badger, D. (2021). The First General Federal Vaccination Requirement: The OSHA
Emergency Temporary Standard for COVID-19 Vaccinations.
Biden v. Missouri. (n.d.). Oyez. Retrieved February 10, 2022,
from
https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/21A240
Option 2
I’m choosing the recent vaccine mandate that healthcare workers have been challenged with
recently. Our text states, “The Supreme Court must coexist with other governmental bodies that
have their own powers, interests, constituencies, and visions of the public good”. (Greenberg,
2018). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has issued facilities that are
participating in Medicare and Medicaid in 24 states, must ensure that their health care workers
have at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by February 14,2022. If the healthcare workers
are not compliant, the organization that participates in the Medicaid/Medicare program could be
terminated if the hospitals are not compliant. As a health care worker, I have seen such a divide
with the vaccine. I do not agree or disagree with the mandate or the vaccine. However, I believe
this should be reconsidered. People should have some choice. I work for a large hospital system
in my state, and we have been hit badly like others states. I feel that terminating healthcare
professionals are placing so many patients at risk. We have tenured nurses leaving the floor and
so many new novice nurses coming on, with no mentors or anyone to learn from. We were are
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already short nurses prior to the pandemic and now that we have this mandate I feel as though it
is not helping. We have nurses that are retiring earlier and leaving floor nursing all together.
“Some health care institutions, especially those operating in areas with a high degree of vaccine
hesitancy, worry they’ll lose staff to the mandate.” (JAMA, 2022). This has also made it hard to
recruit new nurses. The burnout has tripled as nurses are caring for patients at unsafe ratios. We
have nurses that need health benefits and were told that their benefits would be froze and they
would be suspended until they comply with the mandate. I think it’s unfair for workers to be
terminated after they worked endlessly through the first onset of the virus. It makes the
profession look like those workers don’t matter.
Abbasi J, Rubin R, Suran M. How the Supreme Court’s COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Rulings
Could Shape the Pandemic’s Next Phase.
JAMA.
Published online January 21, 2022.
doi:10.1001/jama.2022.0791
Greenberg, E. S., & Page, B. I. (2018).
The Struggle for Democracy,2018 Elections and Updates
Edition Revel
(12th ed.). Pearson.
Option 1:
How does the bureaucracy affect your life, and thus, your freedom as an ordinary
citizen? In what ways does it hinder or help your life? Do you see the bureaucracy as an effective
aspect in your life or do you see issues with the bureaucracy as it stands? Why/why not? List one
issue you would change concerning the bureaucracy and how you would remedy the issue.
As explained by Greenberg & Page (2018), a bureaucracy is a large, complex organization
characterized by a hierarchical set of offices, each with a specific task, controlled through a clear
chain of command, and where appointment and advancement of personnel is based on merit
rather than inheritance, power or election. Bureaucracies are a fundamental part of the
government, and they impact how laws and regulations are executed in a democracy. Due to
these regulations we see somewhat of a control from the government as it pertains to our
freedom, we aren’t necessarily able to do whatever we want. We can do whatever falls within the
laws and regulations set by the leaders. We may not always realize it as American citizens and
more often than not, we tend to ignore it, but bureaucracies impact our everyday lives. As we
learned in this week’s lesson, “bureaucracies execute federal laws made by Congress and create
the policies that impact us as American citizens” (Chamberlain University, 2021).
Bureaucracies have helped our lives in a major way by “its ability to organize large tasks like
delivering Social Security checks, churning out automobiles from factories, delivering overnight
packages, or fighting wars” (Greenberg & Page, pg. 366, 2018). Without large organizations
effectively helping us organize these tasks, we would be at a huge loss. Bureaucracies have also
improved our quality of life by prioritizing our safety with police protection and ensuring we are
breathing clean air and eating non-contaminated foods. Of course, there is a downside to
bureaucracies and although they are a major help, the American people do not trust them
completely. Many Americans believe the federal bureaucracy to be too large, have too many
rules, are slow to make decisions, and costly. One issue that comes to mind involving
bureaucracy in a healthcare setting is budget cuts involving essential supplies.
Recently at the hospital I work at there was an “in-service” on the overuse of linens. Since we
are not supplying our linen carts with enough drawsheets, fitted sheets or blankets it’s reducing
the number of times incontinent patients are being cleaned which can lead to bigger issues such
as infections. We have shared out concerns as a staff with management but it has to be further
escalated to corporate leaders and it can take weeks to make a decision as they state it is a
budgetary related issue. I’m not sure how else we can fix these issues in bigger corporations such
as hospitals when our main priorities are our patients and for management it is their budget. This
makes it hard to work sometimes as things seem to be made a lot more complicated than they
have to, we should be able to do what is best for the patients that we are caring for. The best we
can do is to continue to bring these issues up during meetings and advocate for our patients and
supplies.
References
Chamberlain University (2021, August 9). POLI330N: Week 6 lesson: A bloated bureaucracy
and an inclusive Supreme Court
https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/84739/discussion_topics/2808371?
module_item_id=12416418
Greenberg, E. S., & Page, B. I. (2018). The Struggle for Democracy, 2018 Elections and Updates
Edition (12th Edition). Pearson Education (US).
https://ambassadored.vitalsource.com/books/9780135246849
Hi Makala.
Fantastic job on your discussion post this week. I must admit that it was very enjoyable to read.
Like you, I also agree with Supreme Court judgment that when charges get dropped at the very
basic levels, that is a presumption of innocence. It implies lack of any tangible evidence likely to
attach the accused person to committing a crime and in this case, Thompson's fundamental
human rights were infringed upon in the form of unwarranted search and arrest. I personally feel
the arrest was unconstitutional and proposed out of misinformation. Citizens should not be
forced into custody without tangible proof attaching them to a scene of crime. The United States
is a country of rights and many freedoms (
McPherson & Libal, 2019).
Reference
McPherson, J., & Libal, K. (2019). Human rights education in US social work: Is the mandate
reaching the field?.
Journal of Human Rights
,
18
(3), 308-324.
https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2019.1617119