How Public Policy is Made - Unit 11

Multiple Choice

What do "linkage institutions" primarily represent in the policy creation process?

• Direct government agencies

• Paths connecting public ideas to policymakers

• Legal court systems

• International diplomatic channels

Multiple Choice

Why are policy agendas important to the politicians and the policymaking process?

• Congress wants to know the issues that a politician will support if elected.

• Public policies can not be suggested if they are not on a policy agenda.

• They inform voters on the issues a candidate supports and creates votes.

• They are required to get the party nomination.

Multiple Choice

What role do policymaking institutions have in creating public policy?

• They ask the American public what policies are important to them.

• They work together to make legislation about political issues.

• The president tells Congress and the courts how to create public policy.

• They study the impacts that legislation has on the American public.

Open Ended

Do you think pluralism or elitism offers a better explanation of how public policy is created in a democracy? Explain why you feel the way you do.

One way you could begin your answer is:

Elitism is a more convincing explanation . . .

Pluralism is a more convincing explanation . . .

Reorder

The statements below outline an timeline of public policy creation. Use what you have learned in this lesson about the policymaking process to place them in order from step 1 to step 5.

• Protests by minimum wage workers have captured the attention of legislators and local TV stations who created continuous media coverage.

• The minimum wage in your state is $8 an hour. The cost of living is too high and many people are struggling to survive on minimum wage.

• Through meetings and speeches, your local legislator was able to get the issue of minimum wage on the political agenda.

• Several years after the law goes into effect, studies report that the economy is booming and that the public fully supports the law. However, people in jobs based on tips (like a waiter/waitress) are frustrated because it did not help their base service wage.

• The committee agrees and creates a policy that the minimum wage will increase to $9.50 an hour the next year with a raise to $10 an hour in two years.

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5