Posted: November 28th, 2014

Parameters for Memo

Parameters for Memo
#
3
Due Electronically Before Class Begins
The first two memos
required that
you retrospectively evaluate a policy change and then
prospectively plan another
. This final memo
asks you the ea
siest question of all
–
why
do
current system
s
function
the way
that
they do
? Th
e
s
e
type
s of analyses often
accompany
public and private sector
reports
as reference pieces, or are introduced into
court proceedings as statements of uncontroverted fact.
Whereas retrospective and
prospective
analyses require you to guess at circumstances, motivations, and past/future
events, this memo allows you to focus exclusively on what is known. That makes it
straightforward, but also means that your clients can easily tell if you
make a mistake
.
Assume that I am a new US senator from California
(where I had been a state legislator
for the last 10 years)
and
was just
assigned
to the US Senate Select Committee on Ethics
(
http://www.ethic
s.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/
).
My first task is to understand
when
and how
business
interests (and other resource
–
rich groups) have
an advantage in the
competition
s
for
federal
policy.
I
n particular,
I need an analysis explaining whether
the
patterns o
f success and failure for
resource
–
rich vs. resource
–
poor
groups
are
different in
Washington DC when compared to California’s s
tate government (in Sacramento).
My
suspicion is that direct democracy might matter, but I am not sure.
I ask you, my
superanalyst, to generate a memo analyzing the question above. Y
ou are
very busy near the end of the
semester
legislative
session
, so time is limited. Fortunately,
you have recently read two excellent books on this topic. So lucky! You realize that by
simply using these two source texts you can generate a reasonable analysis for me very
quickly. In this memo you will:
•
Use
the Baumgartner and Gerber texts to
support your analysis
. For the purposes
of this memo, be sure to provide the text and page numb
er for
each
citation. You
do not need to use other sources, but if you do, cit
e those in the same way
.
•
Specify which parts of the
federal and state
institutional structures and
systems
drive the result.
Explain how and why.
•
This is a nuanced argument
–
i
t is not
enough
to say
:
“business always wins in
Washington and loses in Sacramento.” You would need to explain the
mechanism for success in Washington, the barriers to success in Sacramento, the
government structures that drive success/failure, etc. I n
eed to understand how
the institutions
in both governments affect the influence of money on policy.
The memo must not exceed
five
pages
in length. U
se one
–
inch margins, single
–
spaced,
Times New Roman, 12
–
point font, and footnotes. I
will
deduct
one
point
for every error
in grammar and inconsistency in formatting. I will remove a letter grade if the paper is
not turned in on time, and then another letter grade for every additional hour it is late.
I
recommend generating a pdf of the memo to ensure f
ormatting errors do not occur during
the transmission/translation of the file.
!

Required Text:
1.    Baumgartner, Frank et al. 2009. Lobbying and Policy Change. Chicago Press. ?
2.    Gerber, Elisabeth. 1999. The Populist Paradox. Princeton Press. ?

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