In what ways are many citizens dissatisfied with the federal bureaucracy? What events have affected their opinion, and how has citizen satisfaction changed in recent years? How can citizens influence the public policy process? Provide examples

Why is voting not enough? When is citizen action most successful?

Answer: An ideal response will:
1. Identify citizen concern with the performance of the bureaucracy, particularly after Hurricane Katrina, the Gulf oil spill, and the failure to detect the 2009 Christmas Day bombing plot.
2. Detail that public confidence in the executive branch has been generally declining over the last 15 years, and that citizens are unhappy that the Obama administration has not yet produced its promised overhaul of the bureaucracy.
3. Explain that citizens can influence regulations, monitor bureaucratic performance, and prompt needed reforms by supporting interest groups that lobby for good government, visiting government websites, and collecting information.
4. Identify that other ways citizens can influence the public policy process are by voting, writing letters, sending e-mails, confronting legislators at community meetings, and running for office themselves.
5. Discuss how voting is often hampered by the difficulty of determining where candidates stand on issues and how voting alone is not sufficient to convey precise information to policy makers about what citizens want to see accomplished.
6. Note that citizen action is more successful when it does not just demand that the government act but also makes a well-developed argument for change and involves clear ideas for alternative policy.