POLSC401: Ethics and Public Policy

10a. Identify and analyze ethical dilemmas that policymakers may face in dealing with issues of daily operations of government, lobbying, campaigns, and elections

• Define what a whistleblower does and the protections they have according to U.S. law.
• Discuss the relationship between cronyism and nepotism.
• Name some ways lobbyists can do their jobs ethically. 
• What are the major ethical concerns regarding America's system of campaign finance?
• What is the role of government oversight and how does it work? 
• What are some ethical problems with public pensions and they way they are managed? 

This last unit covers the basic functions of government. We explore the ethical concerns politicians experience in government operations, lobbying, campaigning, and elections. We consider how policymakers can govern in an ethical manner. 

In the video, "What is Government Ethics," Hana Callaghan says a public servant should act in the interest of the common good. They have a duty to put the public interest before their own; to treat constituents equally, with fairness and impartiality, regardless of their party or whom they voted for; to act competently and obey the law; to be transparent and act with accountability; to campaign in an ethical manner; to reduce the public vitriol; and, to be available for respectful political discussion.

A key takeaway is that lobbying is unavoidable and poses many ethical challenges. While lobbying can open the public discourse, provide a productive way for citizens involved in interest groups to present their case, and help policymakers make informed decisions, it can also provide an avenue for corruption. It can be difficult to enforce protections against abuses, such as bribery, cronyism, nepotism, conflicts of interest, and other forms of government corruption.

Support for whistleblowers is an American tradition which protects those who call attention to ethical wrongdoing that occurs within an organization. These individuals should "blow the whistle" in four ways according to the Government Accountability Project: 1. report wrongdoing or a violation of the law to the relevant supervisor, hotline, or inspector general; 2. refuse to participate in workplace wrongdoing; 3. testify in a legal proceeding; and, 4. leak evidence of wrongdoing to the media.

In a controversial decision in 2010, the Supreme Court struck down a ban the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 imposed on independent political expenditures. The justices held that corporations have a First Amendment right to make political contributions in its decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. 

Review these questions from the framework of someone who supports 1. virtue ethics (Aristotle), 2. deontology (Kant), 3. utilitarianism (Bentham and Mill), 4. the common good and 5. a fairness approach (Rawls).

Review the video What is Government Ethics?, the articles Whistle Blowing in the Public Sector, Favoritism, Cronyism, and Nepotism, Lobbying Ethics, Gifts and Bribes, and by Judy Nadler and Miriam Schulman; the lecture Can the Government be Trusted to Oversee Itself? by Melanie Sloan; Campaign Finance Reform and Free Speech with Bradley Smith; the controversial Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission; and the ethics of public pensions Thinking Ethically about Government Pensions by Miriam Schulman.

Unit 10 Vocabulary

• Campaign finance
• Cronyism
• Government oversight
• Lobbyist
• Nepotism
• Public pensions
• Whistleblower