The term public policy covers the whole range of government
actions designed to improve life in the United States. How much we pay in sales tax
or into social security, whether the Clean Air Act is enforced, how many food stamps
a family can receive, how best to patrol the borders, and even whether children need
to pass a test before graduating from high school are all matters of domestic
policy. Because domestic policy covers so much, people have widely divergent
opinions about what constitutes the “right” policy. People also disagree about how
best to create and implement such policies.