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Public Policy and State Law

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Public policy reaches into all parts of society, and addresses social problems in a purposeful way, that has been decided to be for the good of the people. Any level of government, whether federal, state or local may be in involved in a particular policy effort because of social problems, public demand for action on these problems, and formulate or produce solutions that become formal plans of action (Kraft & Furlong, 2013). Resources are allocated, according to policy guidelines, to citizens within the US. Because we are a representative democracy, public opinion often mirrors public policy (Pawson & Wong, 2013). Public policy effects the public and is driven by social & economic conditions, among other things. Issues are brought forward and contemplated before they are deemed appropriate for being proposed for legislation. A policy often starts with a public problem that has been pressed by the public and/or groups for formal adoption. The issues are brought forward, solutions discussed and if found feasible, then may pushed forward to be adopted by legislatures (Pawson & Wong, 2013). For instance, states have speed limits to reduce the number of accidents on the road ways. In a given area, if there are higher than average deaths, there may be a push to reduce the speed limit on that stretch of road. I commute about an hour and a half each day to work and am often thankful to police officers who enforce the speed limit. Without these policies in effect, many more people would be killed on public roads, and there would arise more demand by the public for regulation. While many people would prefer to have no speed limit, like that of the Autobahn in Germany, those types of policy would most likely not be in the best interest of the people here based on US auto crash data. Also, it is unlikely that lobbyists for the motor insurance would stand for that type of legislation.
A proposal I heard about this week is in regards to raising gasoline price to pay for green-house emissions, roads and k-9 education. While this seems like a good idea to our governor, I am not sure that it has merit. It seems to me that whenever revenue is collected it really ends up having little effect on solving original objectives or goals. I suppose it is an efficient proposal, as it would be relatively low cost to drivers, however it does not seem to be a fair or equitable choice. The benefits would not be fairly distributed to all members of society in my opinion. I do feel that there is value in fixing roads and with k-12 education, however, in looking at past spending in my state the intended purpose is never fully achieved.

Kraft, M.E. & Fulong, S.R. (2013). Public policy: Politics, analysis, and alternatives (4th ed.).
Painter, C. (2006). Making Public Policy. Public Administration, 84(2), 498-501. Doi:10.1111/j.1467_9299.2006.00018.x
Lawson, R., & Wong, G. (2013). Public Opinion and Policy-making. Social Policy & Administration, 47(4), 434-450. doi:10.1111/spol.12028
Ruscio, K. P. (1998). Public policy making: Process and principles. Perspectives on Political Science, 27(1), 59. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/194694114?accountid=8289

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