As we finish up the semester, I wanted to do a quick summary of what I hope you will take away from this course. It has been a pleasure reading your reflection papers and reading your comments about public policy issues. This is the first time I have taught this course online, and I certainly learned a lot; I hope you did, too.
Many people come into this class hoping to find out the "right" answer for how government can solve a problem, be it undocumented or illegal immigration, inequality in the education system, or housing the homeless. I hope that this course has taught you that the world of public policy is never so simple that a single "right" answer is easy to find. The United States, in particular, has a very complex system of government with three branches at the national level, states with at least two branches, and local governments all working alone and in concert to solve problems. Not to mention that nonprofit and for-profit organizations also play an important role in creating, advocating for, and implementing public policies. While the dream of "three-page" bills would certainly increase transparency, it seems as though our system of government is too complex to make such a goal a reality. Next time a politician suggests a simple answer to a complex problem, I hope that you will view such a suggestion skeptically.
I hope that our discussions of substantive policy issues peaked your interest, as well. Although our department does not currently have the capacity to offer classes in each of these substantive areas, there are classes in departments like sustainability, criminology, sociology, social work, and economics where you can explore these substantive areas in more depth. Further, for those of you who are planning to pursue the public service and public policy major, I hope that this gave you some ideas in terms of where you might want to do your internship and possible topics for your capstone. The CQ researcher briefs are all accessible online through the library and they provide a good starting point for understanding the "players" and major debates in each policy area. Peters' book provides a more straightforward look at the background of each of these larger policy areas. I hope you will refer back to these resources as you continue your studies of public policy.
In comparison to some of the other courses you may take in this department, this course attempts to instill more of a critical perspective in each of you. While some may see this perspective as oppositional to the more "scientific" and "objective" courses in cost-benefit, statistical, and economic analysis; I believe that both perspectives are essential to the evaluation of public policy proposals. Without this perspective, you may miss some of the underlying assumptions or as Stone would say "counting as" used in these analyses that can fundamentally alter the results of an analysis. You may also miss assumptions that can alienate or confuse policy targets. Ultimately, I hope that those of you who pursue a career in policy, administration, or politics will take your skills in economics, statistics, and critical thinking and combine them to approach each policy skeptically and then choose the policy alternative that fares the best on all three criteria.
Most of all, I hope that you take away the idea that although we may disagree with each other on these issues we can still have a civil discussion about each of them, and generally find at least some point of common ground. It seems as though our policy discourse will only become more fractured and hostile as the 2012 election approaches, and it's important to keep in mind that those who support a different candidate or take a different perspective on an issue are not our enemy. We can learn a lot more about ourselves and our opinions when we take the time to listen to and understand the other side of arguments, and why others may disagree with our own perspectives.
Thank you all for a great class and I hope you enjoy your winter break!
P.S. Don't forget to turn in your policy memos on the 11th. Make sure you refer back to the rubric from policy memo 1, as we will be using that same rubric to grade your second memos.
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