How many branches of government are there?
We are taught in school that in the U.S. we have three branches of government: the executive, legislative and judicial. Our founding fathers felt that this separation of powers would result in a system of check and balances that would prevent either branch from gaining too much power. For many years this system worked fairly well, until the development of huge government bureaucracies. While, technically speaking, the bureaucracy is under the control of the executive branch, it has become a fourth level of government. Armed with its rule-making authority and protected by civil service laws, the bureaucracy is a decision making body that functions without the controls once envisioned by our founders. A bureaucrat sees presidents and congress-people come and go but they remain. Rules and regulations are meant to protect and not abuse. However, bureaucratic abuse was and is still is rampant with respect to handling the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. A recent AP article (12/19/07) reporte
Related Questions
- Is the power of the Legislative Branch continuing to grow and is it creating an impractical imbalance between the government branches?
- What are the general functions of the legislative branch in relation to the other branches of government?
- What are the 3 branches of government, what are there duties, and who heads them in wyoming?
