Inside the Sausage Factory: Policy, Politics, Interests and Realities of the Public Square

Inside the Sausage Factory: Making Policy, Managing Politics andManeuvering Interests

Frameworks, Process, Politics, Mechanism and Implementation Introduction

We have an idealized and naïve view of how public policy is made which is ignorant of what goes on“inside the sausage factory” where intended policy is turned into actual legislation and then translatedinto implementation. Influenced, if not entirely controlled, by interest groups, partisan politics, politicalmaneuvers and other backoffice activities.Yet these things are inherent, endemic and historical. In fact the “if you can’t stand to watch the sausagebeing made” aphorism was originally coined by Otto von Bismarck, well over a 100 years ago.To understand how good intentions go thru the slaughtering, processing and packaging we start with thecommonest failure – the thought that good intentions without thinking thru the consequences count. Thatfailure to ask the next question (preferably at least five layers deep) often results in bad, or worse,unintended consequences because we fail to account for the incentives created. If we’d like to live in abetter world we need a better approach.One key to that better approach is understanding that politics is not just about the typical left and rightdiscussion but, in the process of dealing with real world consequences is also about mechanism. That is,how are you going to implement policy. Which then leads us to framing a strawman policy agendadesigned to address the key issues we’ve been ignoring for three decades and suggest the things weshould do that are pragmatic, workable and centrist.But no discussion of policy is complete without understanding how policy is influenced by privateconcerns, the maneuverings of the special interests groups whose Positions, Power and Politics havemore to do with the final outcome and the resulting implementation than civics textbooks will tell you.The other governing factors are the interests and concerns of the voters and their choice-making – inparticular why the idea of a rational voter is a myth in the textbook sense as well as the psychology of how they actually make their decisions.Consider this a post-graduate introduction to the real world of policy making. Even if you’re notinterested in it for its own sake the results govern your life. And if you’re at all interested in what canreasonably be expected from the sausage factory we hope this is a start on the operating manual.

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Table of Contents

1. Politics & Policy: Take the Next Step 22. What World Do You Want to Live In? 23. The Sage of Omaha: Values, Integrity and the World We Want 34. Unintended Consequences: Blowing Off Our Own Feet 55. Putting the Pieces Together: Framing, Crisis & Linkages 96. Finding the RadCenter: Making Politics Work? 117. Framing the Radical Center: a Policy Agenda for the 4th Republic 128. Hidden Issues and Government Reform: the Politics of Special Interests 149. Party on Grasshopper: Digging Deeper....into the Policy Agendi 1510. Inside the Sausage Factory: the 4P's of Political Reality 1811. Rational Voters, Public Choice, Economics and Futures 2012. Voice, Leadership, Messages, Realities: Living in a Tough World 25

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Peace in the Public Square: the 100 Days and Re-emergence of Civitas 27

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Politics & Policy: Take the Next Step

http://llinlithgow.com/PtW/2008/01/wrfest_20jan08politics_policy.html January 25, 2008Well here's the final post for last week's readings. The prior two covered enough ground we decided to delaythese. Below you'll find interesting readings on the current US election, including an interesting piece on "HowVoters Think" that tries, somewhat successfully, to address the surprises so far in this campaign. There are alsotwo pieces analyzing the underlying economics of racial behavior and the costs/benefits of the Iraq War. Both ofwhich we highly recommend. Another piece on the "Durably Democratic" nature of American society and anotheron a recent discovery by Chinese scientists on the main biological pathways of drug addiction.You may be wondering what they all have in common. Well, to some extent they are indeed our usual potpourri ofinteresting readings across a spectrum of interests. But one thing they do have in common, particularly thereadings on racial spending patterns and the costs of Iraq, is taking a look using a disciplined approach tounderstanding the deeper structures and casual patterns of things. Tom Sowell makes an interesting point whenhe calls for taking the next step. (Basic Economics: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy,Applied Economics: Thinking Beyond Stage One)As he point out all too often you hear people and policy makers complaining about the unintended consequencesof things. The so-called "Black Swan" effect. But what actually happens is that the unfortunate outcome is usuallyperfectly natural and likely, and not as afterwards thinking but beforehand. But almost always policy is madefocused on intent without asking what are the changes in incentives created. In other words what is the likelybehavior going to be as a result of the policy. And furthermore have you asked and "then what happens ?". It'sthis taking the next step based on basic investigations of the deep structure that all too often result in unfortunateoutcomes. In other words on a willful denial of the nature of things combined with a deliberate blindness. Bluntly,people and policy is made by deliberately and determinedly screwing up. So instead of relying on hope we preferto actually examine things in a systematic AND systemic way to try and understand what's going on. Of course amajor part of such an approach is the understanding that most decisions will be, as the Buddhists put it,"UNSKILLFULL" :). The readings on spending patterns and Iraq are perfect exemplars of digging in andunderstanding things as they are.BtW - the prior post on the problems in the economy and the policy moves are a good example in two ways. First,the consequences of such blindness that creates a mess. And second, what happens when you've got to clean itup.(Pump Priming, Rates Cuts and Crameritis: More on Economic Outlook). Finally there are more posts in theScience & Culture section - one on the searches for new forms of artificial life that could be as big a breakthru asPharmaceuticals, Plastics and Electronics were post-WW2. Another on Europe's strangely peaceful interludesince then, which is fascinating inasmuch as it talks about the Continent that brought us all our World Wars andnow is the most peaceful (albeit artificially). And the final two excerpts - one on leaning to appreciate wine basedon your own preferences instead of the common shibboleths. Point made ? :) And another about a Man whobecame a deserved Icon - Beethoven's last symphony and his life.

What World Do You Want to Live In?

http://llinlithgow.com/PtW/2008/01/wrfest_27jan08_what_world_do_y.html January 28, 2008An interesting question, is it not ? At the end of the day a lot of the sturm und drang in the elections, or elsewhere,are really disputes about just that question. If it wasn't clear then let me admit our attempt at sketching such aworld was captured in a series of holiday posts, capstoned by Welcome toGanesha's World: Obstacles, Foresightand Action, which also lists the prior links and has some interesting readings in its' own right. Several times thislast week we've seen some other posts and stories that ask this essential question. But to put it more directly ourideal world is one in which everyone has a reasonable opportunity to live a decent life, develop their ownattributes to their best potential and strife is reduced to the workable minimum. We've argued, perhaps a little too