Regulatory Policy – Regulatory Policy seeks to maintain order, outlawing behaviors that pose a danger to society. This is accomplished through policies and laws that restrict people, groups, and companies from doing things that have a detrimental effect on social and political order. Regulatory policy includes such issues as administering voting procedures, enacting traffic ordinances, and creating policies to prevent people from using dangerous drugs. Regulatory policy also controls business markets and regulates industry, protects the environment, and sets policy for the workplace.
Distributive Policy – Distributive policy is concerned with providing goods and services, administered through public agencies, to various organizations. These goods and services are paid for by the citizens’ taxes, and include such items as public education, public roadways, public safety, and welfare.
Redistributive Policy – Redistributive policy is a tricky issue, as it involves moving tax dollars from one organization, which received the money through distributive policy, to other organizations. On the face, such redistribution is supposed to be done in an attempt to eliminate adverse social issues, such as poverty. In practice, this is rarely so cut-and-dry. Because the nation’s leaders are able to use redistribution to gain advantages in other budget issues, or even to enhance one group’s power over another.
Constituent Policy – Constituent policies create agencies with executive power to work as an agent of the government. For instance, at some point, new departments or agencies were created to deal with taxes, and to administer the Social Security plan. Constituent policy is also concerned with laws, and with fiscal policy, and is responsible for development of new departments, distribution of funds internally, and creating rules for public servants.