Is the power of the American President too great?
In America, a president is beyond the control of the public until the end of the four year term. So does the power of the American president threaten the liberties of the public? On the other hand, is the executive branch bureaucracy beyond the control of either the president or the public?
America’s founders gave the president the power to control the executive branch for a very clear reason. Otherwise we could not hold the president responsible for the actions of that branch. And until the 1880s, the president had the power to fill all executive bureaucracy positions, called the Spoils System. But then there was a man who believed President Garfield owed him a political debt but did not give him the bureaucratic position he asked for. So he assassinated the president. (The Spoils System)
As a result, Congress passed the Pendleton Act. That established a non-partisan commission to evaluate all bureaucracy candidates based on merit. Today, that commission, not the president, fills all but the most senior positions. The president appoints only those senior positions, and the Senate approves or disapproves those appointments.
Is it possible for one person to have real control over something as large as the executive bureaucracy? Is that even more difficult now that the president cannot control the non-senior positions? There is much talk today of a “deep state” which is just another name for that bureaucracy. But it carries the connotation that bureaucrats have worked themselves into the government beyond the control of the president or the people. If that is true, then they can ensure their continued employment regardless of merit. So they can ensure their continued influence over our lives as well.
America is controlled both by laws imposed by the legislature and by regulations imposed by agencies in the executive bureaucracy.
Those Agencies have tremendous power. They pass between 4000 and 8000 regulations every year. Meanwhile, Congress passes only a few hundred laws each year, and has no input to the agencies’ regulations. (Noveck 2009, 130)
A citizen must act through the court system to challenge an agency regulation. And the Supreme Court has the ultimate authority to declare it legal or illegal based on that challenge. The president has input to those regulations only through the senior bureaucracy heads he or she appoints, so voters only have input once every four years through the presidential election. But many bureaucrats hold their positions for their entire career.
These facts become especially troubling in light of “regulatory capture”. That means the companies that the agencies are supposed to regulate capture or gain control of those agencies. This occurs because those companies have a very high stake in pushing regulators for favors. Meanwhile, the individual citizens affected by those companies have only a very small stake in the outcome. (Regulatory Capture)
The power of the American president also includes the presidential veto, which means he can prevent congressional bills from becoming laws.
The U.S. Constitution allows Congress to override a veto by a two-thirds vote in both houses. According to the separation of powers doctrine, the president and executive branch should be separate from the legislative branch. However, the veto power falls under the checks and balances principle which reduces that separation by giving each branch some control over the other branches. Otherwise one branch might be able to draw all government power to its self.
America’s founders gave the president the veto power mainly because he must be able to protect himself from legislation that would give Congress power over the executive branch. Some also add that it was needed for someone with nation-wide representation to limit bills intended to profit only specific states. So while the president heads the executive branch, the veto gives him considerable additional power in the legislative branch. His legislative power is demonstrated by the fact that only about seven percent of vetoes have ever been overridden by Congress. (Veto)
It should also be obvious that Congress would have passed many other bills, except that they knew the president would veto them. All these constitutional rules make great sense and have served us well, but we could alter them without removing their effect entirely. That is, we could pass a constitutional amendment reducing the two-thirds (which is 66 2/3 percent) requirement to perhaps 60 or even 55 percent. This would reduce the president’s power and increase that of Congress. In other words, we could give more power to the more direct representatives of the people.
Do you believe there is a “deep state” that’s beyond the power of the American president and the American voters?
Do you think the president should have more (or less) control over the bureaucracy? Should voters have more control of the bureaucracy? Should either the president or Congress have more control over executive agency regulations? Do you think it should be easier (or harder) for Congress to override a presidential veto? Are there other ways to improve the balance of power in our national government?
You can add a comment at the bottom of the page about how to improve modern political systems. Non-relevant comments will be deleted. Also, all URL links will be stripped from comments, until WordPress fixes their hacking problem.
Next Post
Sources:
Noveck, Beth Simone. 2009. WIKI Government. Harrisonburg, VA: Brookings Institution Press.
Regulatory Capture. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture (accessed Oct. 14, 2020)
The Spoils System. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoils_system (accessed Oct. 14, 2020)
Veto. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veto (accessed Oct. 14, 2020)
If some one needs expert view about blogging then i suggest him/her
to go to see this website, Keep up the pleasant job.
Please tell your friends about this site. I am looking for an agent to get my book published which will take some time. When publication occurs, I will provide all the info on my home page.
Your article gave me a lot of inspiration, I hope you can explain your point of view in more detail, because I have some doubts, thank you.
Can you tell us more about this? I’d want to find out some additional information.
Great article and right to the point. I am not sure if this is in fact the best place to ask but do you folks have any thoughts on where to hire
some professional writers? Thank you 🙂
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
Needed to draft you this bit of word so as to say thanks again considering the amazing tips you have shown in this case. It has been simply seriously generous of people like you to convey openly just what a lot of folks would have advertised for an e book to help with making some bucks on their own, chiefly given that you might have tried it if you wanted. The concepts in addition acted to become a great way to recognize that someone else have a similar eagerness the same as my very own to see great deal more concerning this issue. I think there are several more pleasant occasions in the future for individuals who check out your website.
I intended to compose you one tiny observation in order to say thanks once again relating to the marvelous methods you’ve contributed here. This has been quite open-handed with you to convey freely exactly what a few people would’ve distributed as an electronic book to make some dough for their own end, certainly considering that you might well have tried it if you ever wanted. Those good tips in addition worked to be the great way to fully grasp many people have the identical eagerness just like my own to realize lots more with regard to this condition. I’m certain there are millions of more enjoyable instances ahead for people who read carefully your blog post.
I intended to put you one very little remark so as to say thank you as before on the magnificent solutions you have shown in this case. It’s certainly incredibly generous with people like you to present extensively all most people might have offered for sale for an ebook to help with making some bucks on their own, most notably considering the fact that you could possibly have done it in case you decided. Those tips in addition served to become a good way to comprehend most people have the identical dream just as my own to find out more and more when it comes to this problem. Certainly there are some more pleasant periods ahead for folks who go through your website.
Needed to post you one very small remark to help thank you very much over again considering the marvelous suggestions you have discussed above. This has been certainly strangely open-handed with people like you to present easily just what many people would’ve offered for an electronic book to end up making some bucks on their own, primarily given that you might well have done it in the event you considered necessary. These tactics additionally worked to provide a good way to be aware that other individuals have a similar dream similar to mine to realize more with regard to this problem. I think there are a lot more pleasurable situations up front for many who see your blog.
I intended to put you that tiny word to help give many thanks yet again on the striking methods you’ve provided on this page. It was incredibly generous with you in giving openly exactly what a lot of folks might have sold for an e-book in making some bucks on their own, most importantly considering the fact that you could have tried it if you ever wanted. The points likewise acted as a great way to fully grasp that other individuals have the same passion like mine to see a good deal more in terms of this matter. I’m certain there are many more enjoyable opportunities up front for those who examine your blog post.
I wanted to write you that little word to help say thanks again for these striking techniques you have shared at this time. It was particularly open-handed with people like you to make openly precisely what a lot of people would’ve advertised for an e-book to earn some cash for themselves, primarily now that you could possibly have done it if you ever wanted. These principles also acted to become a great way to recognize that someone else have a similar keenness similar to my very own to know the truth more and more with reference to this issue. I think there are numerous more pleasant situations ahead for those who browse through your blog.
I wanted to write you the little bit of observation just to say thank you as before with the pleasant concepts you’ve discussed in this case. This has been quite tremendously generous of people like you to allow publicly precisely what a number of people could have offered for sale as an e-book to end up making some dough for themselves, specifically now that you might have done it in case you wanted. Those points also worked to become fantastic way to realize that most people have the identical eagerness just like mine to grasp a little more pertaining to this issue. I’m certain there are lots of more pleasurable instances in the future for many who read through your site.
Needed to write you a bit of note to finally give thanks as before for your personal nice concepts you have provided in this article. It was quite incredibly generous with people like you giving extensively all that some people would have offered for an ebook in making some bucks for themselves, mostly given that you could have done it in case you considered necessary. Those solutions likewise acted as the great way to know that other people online have a similar dream just like mine to know the truth many more in regard to this issue. I know there are some more fun instances in the future for those who look over your blog post.
Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this
page to him. Pretty sure he will have a good
read. Many thanks for sharing!
Thanks in favor of sharing such a fastidious thinking, post
is fastidious, thats why i have read it completely
It’s very easy to find out any matter on web as compared to
textbooks, as I found this article at this website.
Your style is really unique in comparison to other
folks I’ve read stuff from. Thanks for posting when you’ve
got the opportunity, Guess I will just book mark
this page.
Highly energetic post, I loved that a lot. Will there be
a part 2?
You actually make it seem so easy together with your presentation but I in finding this matter to be
actually one thing which I think I might never understand.
It kind of feels too complex and very extensive for me.
I’m taking a look forward on your subsequent submit, I will try
to get the hold of it!
Great blog here! Also your website loads up fast! What web host are you using?
Can I get your affiliate link to your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly as
yours lol
Generally I don’t learn post on blogs, however I wish
to say that this write-up very forced me to check out and do it!
Your writing style has been amazed me. Thanks,
very great post.
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is
added I get three emails with the same comment.
Is there any way you can remove me from that service?
Appreciate it!
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good.
Thanks for every other informative blog.
The place else may just I am getting that kind of information written in such a perfect
way? I’ve a mission that I am just now operating on, and I’ve been at the look out for
such information.
Hi it’s me, I am also visiting this website daily, this website is in fact pleasant and the viewers are truly sharing fastidious thoughts.
Needed to write you this very little observation in order to thank you yet again with your striking things you have shared above. This is surprisingly generous with you in giving without restraint all a number of people would have offered as an e-book in order to make some profit for their own end, most importantly considering the fact that you could have done it if you considered necessary. These inspiring ideas likewise worked to be the good way to recognize that other people have similar dreams just as my personal own to grasp much more when considering this problem. I’m sure there are thousands of more fun instances ahead for many who read your blog post.
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you
relied on the video to make your point.
You clearly know what youre talking about,
why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be
giving us something enlightening to read?
I wanted to thank you for this fantastic read!! I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it.
I have got you book-marked to look at new stuff you post…
Spot on with this write-up, I actually believe that this website needs a great deal
more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the information!
Wonderful items from you, man. I have be mindful your stuff previous to and you are simply extremely fantastic.
I actually like what you’ve acquired here, really
like what you’re saying and the best way through which you assert it.
You’re making it enjoyable and you continue to take care of to stay it wise.
I cant wait to learn far more from you. That is really a tremendous website.
Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to safeguard against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard on. Any tips?
Nice weblog here! Also your web site loads
up very fast! What web host are you using?
Can I get your associate link in your host? I wish my site loaded up as quickly
as yours lol
fantastic points altogether, you simply won a new reader.
What may you recommend in regards to your put up that you simply made some days in the past?
Any positive?
It’s an awesome piece of writing in support of all the web people; they will take advantage from it I am sure.
continuously i used to read smaller articles or reviews which also clear their motive, and that
is also happening with this piece of writing which I am reading now.
Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon everyday.
It will always be exciting to read content from other authors and practice a little something from other web sites.
Aw, this was a really nice post. Taking the time and actual effort to make a top notch article… but
what can I say… I procrastinate a whole lot and don’t seem to get anything done.
Hey! Someone in my Myspace group shared this site with us so I
came to take a look. I’m definitely enjoying the information. I’m bookmarking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
Wonderful blog and excellent design and style.
That is really interesting, You’re a very professional blogger.
I’ve joined your rss feed and stay up for in quest of more of your excellent post.
Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks
Very good article. I’m experiencing some of these issues as well..
Unquestionably believe that which you stated.
Your favorite justification seemed to be on the web the simplest thing
to be aware of. I say to you, I definitely get irked while people consider
worries that they plainly do not know about. You managed to hit
the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side-effects
, people can take a signal. Will likely be back
to get more. Thanks
Thank you for your sharing. I am worried that I lack creative ideas. It is your article that makes me full of hope. Thank you. But, I have a question, can you help me?
I am extremely inspired with your writing skills
and also with the structure for your weblog. Is that this a paid subject or
did you customize it yourself? Either way stay up the excellent quality writing,
it’s rare to see a great blog like this one these days.
Magnificent site. Lots of helpful information here. I am sending it to several pals ans also sharing in delicious. And naturally, thank you to your effort!