Public Policy: A Postive Impact in America

                      

Governmental intervention in terms of rules and regulations that the general public has to abide by has been a controversial topic of discussion ever since the founding fathers were writing the Constitution. Ever since even that moment in history, the general public as well as politicians have been split on just how much the government should be allowed to be involved in the lives of the general public.  For politicians and the public there are two basic sides that someone can take on this matter. In chapter 13, of “The New Urban Sociology” they discuss the views and beliefs of governmental intervention for liberals and conservatives. They state, that liberals, “… support governmental intervention and spending as a means of combating social ills.” Also, “ the liberal agenda uses governmental intervention as a tool to overcome uneven development” (Gottdiener et al. p 346). On the other hand conservatives view governmental intervention in a whole different way. The book states, “Conservatives believe in limited government intervention and severely restricted government spending” (Gottdiener et al. p 347). As you can see liberals and conservatives have very different beliefs when it comes to how much government intervention there should be. But is government intervention really a bad thing in America? If you were to ask different people this question, you would likely get some very different answers. Those answers would possibly be due to ones political affiliation of being either a liberal or a conservative.

Let’s take a look at some positives to having a government involved in making policies for the general public to abide by. A vast majority of public policies put in place by the government as in order to protect common areas some the large populations that are using those areas. Common areas include public resources such as air, water, streets, public transportation, etc. A large population on a daily basis uses the vast majority of these common resources. Also, the vast majority of people take this resources for granted treat them with the care that is required in order for them preserve them. Because this is the case, the government needs to step in and put policies in place that are meant to safeguard these public common areas. Other positive examples of policies put in place by the government are recycling laws, without these laws the vast majority of people would not recycle or would not be committed to protecting the environment. Another example that deals with government intervention not only shows how policies can be positive, but it also shows how America is not the only country that is dealing with this issue of government intervention. In China there was the issue of overcrowding and over population, so to combat this their government created the one child policy.  For the most part this had a positive effect; they have since eliminated the policy. But, the fact of the matter was it was beneficial for the government to intervene in the matter. The above reasons and examples or policies put in place by the government show how government intervention can for the most part be a positive thing. The book puts it like this, “There is an important lesson to be learned here: although we dislike government intervention, we find it useful. Sustaining the quality of life in metropolitan regions is an especially difficult task without the aid of government policy and regulation because the free market is incapable of doing so on its own” (Gottdiener et al. p 346).

The links below provide positive and negative reasons for government intervention, the first is an article, while the second is a YouTube clip:

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/5735/economics/should-the-government-intervene-in-the-economy/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eszQRRa0uM