Entering this course only with a slight grasp on the types of policy organizations involved around the United States and further, made both the lecture and readings very informative and influential.
Out of all the theories discussed in class and in the readings the one theory that stuck out to me the most was the Rational-Choice Theory or Public-Choice Theory. I do believe that people ultimate seek to maximize some type of overall goal or picture. Now I am not stating that people ultimately look to become the ultimate leader for some type of fame or fortune, but I am saying that people seek to maximize a decision in hopes of gaining something in some form. In the matter of policy though, the reading in Public Policymaking brought forth the idea of Congress and how they act in manners to ultimately raise their chances of reelection. I found it difficult to not align with this thought that Congressmen and Congresswomen sought to find ways to align to the most popular choices with the thought that it would help them in reelection. In my political science course last semester, I learned that once a Congress member was elected that they immediately began to campaign for reelection, thus supporting the belief that these members act on some type of attainment in the end. I strongly feel that an individual no matter how detached from a certain issue or idea cannot fully separate oneself from a value or belief. These characteristics are molded into people while they grow and encounter experiences in their life. Let me state though that I do not believe that people base decisions simply out of their own values but that the underlying factor would be that values and preferences can never truly be left out of a thought or idea. This can fall in line with how one Senator can stop the whole Senate if it truly impacted their personal value whether it be moral or based off of a type of preference.
The differences between the regional approach and the communitarian approach is slight I feel. The regional approach is based more on elements from both communitarian and individualism in the idea that individuals with ideas who encourage innovation and work ethic can ultimately come together to revitalize a city and work as one in a collaborative effort. They also believe in more government and that their should be an extra layer in the local level. The communitarian approach focuses simply primarily on the whole working together and puts faith on the government to spark a social change.
On the idea of people vs. places I feel that there is not ultimately one to choose from because both need to be changed to help revitalize cities. I do believe that much of the United States has turned into a suburban living area rather than city living. I myself grew up in the suburban part of Arizona. I do see though that the people and places need to both change. I was placed in public schools and many times my mother questioned putting me in private schools. The idea of education and how it must change is often overlooked in both state and federal government today I have realized. I come from a family of educators and working in a tutoring facility run by a Korean family that values the idea of how an individual can stand out in the U.S. made me believe that the generation today in the U.S. has gotten lazy and has been willing to accept the average. My boss continually tells the co-workers that the criteria taught in most schools, mostly in math, has fallen far below other leading countries such as Korea, China, India, etc. I feel that today students are not realizing the opportunities here in the U.S. and therefore have added to the increasing number of failed public schools. In the Tempe school district I do know that there is some type of approach to improving schools that many teachers dislike. Teachers, principals, and schools will now be evaluated based off of how well their students do. I feel that this is a good step in the direction at seeing where schools can be improved in both instruction and in material. My hope is that public schools can begin to be able to step out from a poorly painted description of them today and their failures.
I feel that out of all the types of policies that were discussed in class it will be very interesting to see how redistributive policies will be dealt with in the upcoming election. Unless someone is taught policymaking and understands how policy will work I feel that how any candidate will portray a type of subject may spark an interesting debate and provide a type of elite theory to form once numbers have begun to become a factor in the election.
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