Bureaucracy is the ideal type of a legal domination, as well as the epitome of the rational power. According to Weber, an ideal bureaucracy of the European type combines the following qualities. First is the division of labor, which is due to the increasing complexity of society and the state. Second are the lines of authority, which are the hierarchy of lower and higher persons in the service of society and the state. Third is a public office or bureau, which is the availability of documents regulating the conditions of activity of all components of the power structure. Fourth is the official procedure for training of officials in the social organization. Fifth are full-time employees that perform in accordance with their profession. Sixth are rules and procedures governing officials and organizations’ operation. Seventh is employees’ loyalty to organizations. Finally, it is the need to follow the established rules and procedures.
Bureaucratic management implies a combination of partial rationality and global irrationality, which is exactly the same combination in the market economy and general commodity production. It expresses the need for a more rational functioning state, which would provide the owners with legal security, the involuntary use of monetary systems, the measures against the economic policy of preventing the free flow of goods and others in order to protect them (Dunleavy).
The Federal Bureaucracy Structure
According to Shmoop Editorial Team, “federal bureaucracy is divided into fifteen different executive departments and hundreds of agencies, bureaus, boards, authorities, and administrations.” The main branches of the structure are “the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Justice, Homeland Security, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, State, Transportation, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs” (Shmoop Editorial Team).
The US laws against smoking are referred to the jurisdiction of the state government and therefore may differ. The common factor is the ban on smoking in public places. Apparently, the fact that it was impossible to introduce a uniform law all over the country has become the reason that the United States ratified but did not adopt the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on tobacco control (Uang, Hiilamo and Glantz).
The History of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the US life
The Department of Housing and Urban Development, shortly HUD, was created in accordance with the law proclaiming the creation of the Ministry of September 9, 1965 and entered into force on November 9, 1965. The Ministry is a federal agency, primarily responsible for the implementation of programs related to housing needs nationwide, the development and preservation of communities nationwide, as well as the provision of equal opportunity to obtain housing to every citizen. As a part of its functions, the Ministry administers a wide range of programs, including the insurance of mortgage debt by the Federal Housing Administration that help families to become owners of their personal homes, as well as contribute to the construction and rehabilitation of a leased housing, etc.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency, shortly FHFA, is complementary to the organization of the Ministry, although is associated with it. The Board supervises the activities of banks in the Federal Home Loan, oversees the quality of performance of banks’ functions of lending housing, watches so that the banks would have sufficient capital and operated in a safe and reliable manner (Carswell).
The Ministry assists the US President in ensuring maximum coordination of activities of various federal agencies that has a major impact on programs for retaining and development of communities, as well as encourages the resolution of problems of housing and community development through the state governments and local authorities. Additionally, it encourages a maximum possible contribution to the strengths of private companies operating in the field of housing, and the provision of loans under the mortgage in housing, community development and the entire national economy, as well as provides a complete and fully integrated at the national level need and interests of different regions of the country along with people who live and work there.
The activities of the Ministry directed to the protection of the environmental habitat include the development of standards, methods and procedures to assess the state of the environment, as well as the potential impact of the Ministry programs on the environment directly. They also consist of the provision of the compliance with laws and government regulations relating to the preservation of archaeological and historical treasures, saving lowlands subjected to flooding, wetland, aquifer protection of animal species threatened with extinction, and the protection of other natural resources.
The Rental Rehabilitation Grand Program provides subsidies for the recovery of the leased property. The Neighborhood Development Demonstration Program stipulates the implementation of projects on the feasibility compliance with statutory requirements. It also includes the activities aimed at the development of a neighbor’s environment through the provision of organizations that meet the requirements and are concerned with the development of neighborhood environment, federal resources, balanced in terms of their attraction and timing of release of assets to which they are invested (Carswell).
The following major legislative acts are related to the activities of the HUD. First is the National Housing Act that was adopted in 1934. It let to establish the Federal Housing Administration, whose task has become the encouragement of the processes of improving standards and housing conditions, as well as the creation of a system of mutual insurance of mortgage debt. The US Housing Act of 1937 has allowed creating the state program of housing construction. The US Housing Act of 1949 has provided executive authorities in states and on a local level with grants, aimed at planning public works and urban renewal. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 has let to establish the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Civil Rights Act of 1968 has added additional responsibility to the Ministry aimed at the implementation of the provisions of the law related to the conduct in the field of housing policy based on the principle of justice. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 has resulted in the creation of a system of blocked grants for the community development allocated to executive agencies. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1977 has created a system of subsidies for urban development. The Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981 have established requirements for the identification of persons with very low income. The Housing and Urban-Rural Recovery Act of 1983 has allowed creating a recovery program of rental housing and programs HODAG, which are subsidies for housing. The Indian Hosing Act of 1988 has established the implementation of special programs to meet the needs of the American Indians and Alaska Natives in the housing on an annual basis. The Housing and Urban Development Reform Act was adopted in 1989. The National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 has allowed creating programs to assist those most in need through economic incentives, state housing and efforts to ensure that families with low income own a personal facility to live in, as well as the provision of funding for programs to assist the homeless (CQ Press).
Case Study on NYCHA Housing
Smoking is forbidden in all states of the US. It is prohibited to smoke in public areas, food service, and taxi, but is allowed to smoke only in specially equipped rooms or areas. Such areas look pretty debarred very often. For example, a person must go off the tribunes of a stadium and go to the back of the stadium to a small area marked yellow on edges so to have a smoke. An individual can be even fined for smoking on some streets. Smoking is allowed only in the casino. The population supports smoking cessation and prohibits smoking in their homes.
Legal acts that ban smoking have come into force starting January 1, 2010 in the United States. They have been designed and implemented to fight against smoking in public places. The citizens of North Carolina were surprised to know the ban has become into its force since it is the main center of the US tobacco industry. However, smoking has been banned in bars and restaurants there since January 1, 2010. At the same time, it is allowed to smoke in private clubs. The same situation has been in Virginia, which is also the center of the American tobacco industry. Same laws have been applied to the citizens of the state since January 1, 2010. Thus, the ban is applicable to smoking in bars and restaurants, but only those that are not equipped with a special ventilation system and powerful extracts.
To say more, the ban on smoking has come into force in 29 states and 25 bars of the US. Additionally, 12 states more including such large states as Florida, Michigan and Arkansas must to make their products less fire exposed starting 2010 year.
There is no federal law regulating smoking in the US. The rules may vary from state to state. For example, the division into zones for smokers and non-smokers was the main requirement in Alaska while a smoking ban was applied to cafes and restaurants in New York in 2002, and in parks, on beaches and Time Square on May 23, 2011. The adoption of the ban resulted in the existence of food and drinks that contain nicotine in bars and restaurants. The menu has started to offer a variety of dishes, from pasta with tobacco to a nicotine milk jelly. Tobacco leaves have been added to sauces and desserts.
Another example is related to the ban in Minnesota. Thus, the US government banned the citizens of Minnesota to smoke in public places in 2007. However, the ban was not applied to actors and, therefore, the representatives of creative professions were allowed to smoke during performances. This indulgence was not left unnoticed by the owners of local bars and the owners of bars and cafes who have started to take an advantage of a loophole in the law. Thus, a number of entertainment facilities offered their guests to participate an improvised party. Visitors of bars wore stage costumes and smoked with impunity. The owners of other institutions decided not to spend money on clothes for their guests but just print tickets for the so-called performances while each client was proclaimed an actor. As a result, the local government reacted quickly to bypass the anti-smoking law and threatened imposing fees to the violators.
California, New York and Illinois are the states where the fight against smoking is particularly strong. It is forbidden to smoke in public places including beaches, parks, squares, streets, embankments, and all crowded places of the states. However, a penalty may be granted in case there are warning signs that prohibit smoking.
The US police often make an exception for foreign tourists, but only the first and last time suggesting that foreigners are not very well aware of the local laws and rules of behavior in public places. At the same time, no exception will be granted to the US citizen there. Smoking bans of Florida and Texas are not so restricted that they have in other states. On the contrary, some restaurants and cafes can allow smoking indoors while a room should be well ventilated.
The fine for smoking varies from $50 to $250 in the US depending on the gravity of the offense. Moreover, the US tobacco companies pay a large down payment in the form of excise duty for the injury caused to the public by funding activities of medicine, particularly in the fight against lung cancer.
The movement against smoking in New York is growing so fast that the smokers have fewer places where they can safely enjoy a cigarette. After an attempt to limit smoking in restaurants, bars, public beaches and parks, the New York local authorities is going to ban smoking in residential areas these days. An increasing number of New York homeowners prohibit smoking in their homes, telling prospective tenants that they could be evicted in case of violation of this ban. For example, the real estate developer company Related Companies, which has 17 buildings in Manhattan, is going to ban smoking in some of its buildings located in the heart of the city. This decision has resulted in the negative impact of tobacco smoke on the health of non-smoking tenants. Thus, the smokers who have already lived in any of these buildings will not be affected by the ban. However, any new renters will be required to refrain from smoking at home even if they continue to do it in other places.
A local developer Kenbar Management has decided to take more serious measures. Smoking will be banned in all 298 residential units in addition to private and shared terraces buildings when the company launches its new residential complex on Lexington Avenue. Moreover, the smokers will be forbidden to smoke while spending time on local area, as well as any of the sidewalks located nearby the building. These trends reinforce the border between smokers and non-smokers in New York.
The movement of banning smoking in the premises is gaining the momentum in the United States these days. The Department of Housing and Urban Development strongly encourages public housing agencies to ban smoking in some or all of their residential facilities. About 50 public housing agencies have already banned smoking in the United States these days.
Similar steps are being implemented in other cities supported by legislative measures or the initiative of development companies. For example, it will be soon forbidden to smoke in all apartments and villas of Richmond located nearby San Francisco. The decision is accepted based on the order of the authorities adopted in July 2015. A nab on smoking, which came into force in January 2015, has already taken place in Belmont. Unscrupulous smokers will have to pay a fine of $100 for the violation.
The New York lawyers say that there is no known legislation in the United States that would prohibit homeowners to install bans on smoking in their homes and apartments while most of judges often protect non-smoking citizens. For example, it was decided by the court in 2006 that tenants had the right to early termination of the contract of renting if their landlords had failed to protect the apartment from passive smoking neighbors.
The position of HUD in this matter is that they are responsible for the protection of premises “from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke, especially the elderly and children who suffer from asthma and other respiratory diseases” ( Associated Press). The results of the ban could protect many people’s lives including children, as well as save millions of funds in health care expenses, repairs and preventable fires.
Major Challenges the US Government Agencies May Face
The US local government is characterized by a broad decentralization, a certain independence from the central government of municipalities and even states, as well as the lack of a direct subordination of local government public authorities.
The problems faced by the local US governments are similar to the problems faced by municipalities in other countries. They include the lack of own financial base, imperfect organization of the system of municipal governance, fragmentation, a complex relationship affluent suburban municipalities and cities that are being in the constant financial crisis.
There are no direct provisions determining that the regulation of the organization of local government is the responsibility of the states in the United States. The US Constitution only establishes the exclusive authority of the central government and recognizes that all other issues are the responsibility of the states. Thus, the states are constitutionally empowered to deal with the organization of local government in the territory. At the same time, the federal government sets direct contacts with the municipalities in the country. The basis of these relations is economic factors. They include federal loans, federal loan guarantees received by municipalities from other sources, as well as subsidizing the activities of municipalities.
Considering the large scale of the matter concerned and the desire of the US government to decrease the consumption of tobacco nicotine in the country, it is unlikely the US bureaucratic system will hinder the process of the implementation of the ban. However, the issue may come from the US largest tobacco companies since there have been cases when the companies accused their own government in the introduction of unnecessary cruel rules requiring post pictures and messages warning about the danger of smoking on the packaging.