Money Spent in Texas
- Federal Government-Grants
- State govt. generates 77%
- Local Government 62%
Texas Budget
- 171.5 Billion
- Fiscal Years 2012
Sources of Revenue
- Taxes
- tax capacity
- tax effort
- per capita tax
- tax exporting
- Consumer taxes: the most common source
Regressive Taxes
-taxes that take a higher percentage of income form low-income persons
Progressive Taxes
-Taxes that take a higher percentage of income from high-income persons
Tax Shifting
-passing taxes on to other citizens
Local Taxes
-the two primary sources for local taxes are property tax and local scales tax
Local Sales Taxes
- Local sales tax is fixed by state law at no more than 2%
- in most urban Texas, there is a 6.25% state sales tax plus 2.0%
- for total of 8.25% total sales tax
Where does the money go?
- education
- health and welfare
- transportation
Perspective on Polymaking
- system model
- bureaucratic model
- marxism model
- free market capitalism model
- national-comprehensive model
- incrementalism
- elitism
- pluralism
System Model
- a model of policymaking that holds that policy is the product of an interlocking relationship between institutions of govt. and their social,economic, and political govt.
ex) environmental law and regulations
Free-Market Capitalism
-a model of policymaking that posts a limited role for govt. so that the natural forces of supply and demand are allowed to prevailed in the market place.
Elitism
- a model of policymaking that holds that public policy decisions are made by a relatively small group of individuals acting in their won self-interest rather tan the interest of the mass of citizens.
Pluralism
-a model of policymaking that hold that public policy decision are the results of struggling, among contesting groups that reflect that various interest among citizens.
National-Comprehensive Model
-a model of decision making that holds that policymakers should identify problems, consider various policy alternatives and their costs and benefits, and select and implement the policy strategy with the highest benefit.
Stages in Policy Process
- Getting issues on the Agenda of govt.
- formulation policy proposals
- Adopting policy proposals
- Implementing policies
- Evaluating policies
Policy Agenda
- The public issues that engage the attention of elected officials
- issues get on the agenda in a variety of ways
- technological engage
- evolution of social values
- threats of crisis of war
- changing economic conditions
- mas media
Formulating Policy Proposals
- Policy Strategy: a specific course of actions designed to deal with public problem
- policy adoption
Implementing Policies
- policy implementation: the translation of policy ideas into action.
ex. drinking and driving
Evaluating Policies
-policy evaluation: the act of determining whether a formally adopted and implemented policy are liberated or solved a public problem.
Purpose + Presence of National Government
- Foreign Policy: a nation’s collective decision about relations with other nations
- domestic policy: a category of public policy that is comprised of policy decisions about matters affecting individuals within a political system
Categories of National Government Polices
- Foreign and defense polices
- social welfare
- protection of legal and constitutional rights
- promotion of science and technology
- regulation
- economic polices
Foreign and Defense relations
-role of national government to conduct
relationships with foreign nation, and to maintain national security against threats form other nations
Social Welfare
- amount of money spent by national government
- Gov. collect money through taxes
- borrow money
