Public Policy Analysis: Government, Policy, and Alternative Options

This essay provides an overview of public policy, defining it as the government's response to societal needs. It examines the importance of public policy, using abortion as a relevant example. The essay details the three branches of the US government (Judiciary, Legislature, and Executive), outlining their primary functions. It emphasizes the significance of public policies in guiding government actions and enabling citizen evaluation. The essay also explores alternative options for policy implementation, such as prioritizing current issues and consulting citizens. It concludes by highlighting the broad scope of policy study and the need for government to involve stakeholders in the policy-making process.

Running head: PUBLIC POLICY
Public policy
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PUBLIC POLICY 2
Introduction
The reason why citizens in any given country have a ruling authority is to try to solve the
daily problems that ordinary citizens face in an organized manner. Every government have its
way of addressing the issues that the citizens raise. However, in most of the circumstances, the
authority makes use of public policies. The term public policy refers to the means in which the
administration used to respond to the needs of the members of the society according to Dunn,
(2015). For example, if it is a matter of security, the government can come with a directive that
maintains a certain number of police of police officers in a specific region. The study of public
policies aims at analyzing how the government come up with essential programs to address the
nation’s challenges. Those who study public systems enjoy various advantages. They can assist
in coming up with directives that solve poverty, health problems and address the general human
rights in reference to Hill & Hupe, (2014). The best policy-making platform here is politics.
The meaning of public policy and the primary functions of the three branches of the United
States federal government.
Public policy refers to medium the government use responds to the social challenges
regarding social, political and economic problems. For example, in the case of US, if the
government have identified that many people are not able to afford the medical care, the
Congress can pass some rules to ensure everyone can access treatment in reference to Vedung,
(2017). One way of doing it is coming up with medical insurance for every citizen.
On the other hand, the federal government of America have three main branches which
include Judiciary, Legislature and the executive. Beginning with the Judiciary, it is made up of
Federal courts and the Supreme court. All these courts have judges of different levels.

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Consequently, the primary function of the Judiciary branch interprets what the laws
mean. After, the interpretation the judges use the rules to determine various cases that have been
laid before it in reference to Scalia, (2018). The second arm of the government is Legislature.
The main work of legislature is to make and amend the laws, approve the government appointees
and declare war between American and other nations. It is mainly comprised of the house of the
representatives and the Senate. The third branch is the executive arm of the government. It is
made up of the president and the cabinet members. The role of the executive is enforcing and
carries out laws. For instance, the cabinet members advice the government on how to run the
state.
The reason why public policy is important
There are numerous essentials of public policies. The primary importance is that it
provides a guideline in which the authority governs people within the set duration. For instance,
every political party have a manifesto that it intends to fulfil when the citizens give it
opportunity. Once it is on power, the government would use the policies to guide it on what to
accomplish at a specific time according to Morone & Kersh, (2016). On the other side, the
citizens have an opportunity to examine the government using the strategies they have set in
place. For instance, if it was a directive to provide free maternity, have the government fulfilled
its promise? Everybody would like to be part of the rulers that meet its obligations. If by any
chance the government fails to achieve the public policies, it will automatically fail to get
support in the next general election according to Wilson, (2017).
The relevant public policy in the context is the directive that the government have given
concerning abortion. It shows that no one should abort, the life of an individual begins at
conception. There it means that the person who commits abortion is a killer and can face severe

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penalties including that of a life sentence. The policy ensures that life is highly valued no more
deaths would be as a result of abortion.
Alternative options in implementing public policy
Even though the public policies create an effective way of governing citizens, there is an
instance that the society still blames the government. It is therefore essential to get some
alternatives to come up with the policies. The first issue is the priority. The government
sometimes come up with directives that do not address current issues. The reason is that the
political parties do not consult widely. It is imperative that the authority should involve other
avenues such as the non-governmental organization to make sound policies. The issue like health
matters should receive priorities. The second alternative way is to consult the ordinary citizens
on what things they need to be given priority thus creating a balance of the policies.
In conclusion, policy study is a vast area. It assists the individuals with information that
would support various sectors to come up with directives. When making policies, the
government should have priority and involve every stakeholder.

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References
Dunn, W. N. (2015). Public policy analysis. Routledge.
Hill, M., & Hupe, P. (2014). Implementing public policy: An introduction to the study of
operational governance. Sage.
Morone, J. A., & Kersh, R. (2016). By the people: Debating American government. Oxford
University Press.
Scalia, A. (2018). A matter of interpretation: Federal courts and the law: Federal courts and the
law. Princeton University Press.
Vedung, E. (2017). Public policy and program evaluation. Routledge.
Wilson, W. (2017). Constitutional government in the United States. Routledge.