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  1. Home
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  3. Perpetuating the Pork Barrel
  • Cited by 103
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
1995
Online ISBN:
9781139174459
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139174459
Subjects:
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Area Studies, American Studies, American Government, Politics and Policy, Politics and International Relations, Sociology
Information

Book description

This book details the policy subsystems - links among members of Congress, interest groups, program beneficiaries, federal and subnational government agencies - that blanket the American political landscape. Robert Stein and Kenneth Bickers have constructed a database detailing federal outlays to Congressional districts for each federal program, and use it to examine four myths about the impact of policy subsystems on American government and democratic practice. These include the myth that policy subsystems are a major contributor to the federal deficit; that once created, federal programs grow inexorably and rarely die; that to garner support for their programs, subsystem actors seek to universalize the geographic scope of program benefits; and that the flow of program benefits to constituencies in congressional districts ensures the re-election of legislators.

Reviews

‘This book devotes needed attention to the linkages between members of Congress, beneficiaries of federal programs (both constituents and interest groups), and intergovernmental agencies. Robert M. Stein and Kenneth N. Bickers have marshalled an impressive array of data to test several hypothesis that question long-held beliefs related to the distribution of federal benefits. Readers of this book will be impressed by the frequency with which the authors’ findings call into question conventional wisdom and suggest alternative, yet reasonable interpretations for the existance of federal programs.’

Source: Journal of Politics

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