ABSTRACT
The design and implementation of intergovernmental programs to achieve national objectives is a difficult task. While the technical analysis of problems and conceptual design of solutions is often easily accomplished, the passage of solutions into law, the administrative implementation of laws in a politicized system, and the interface with potentially more than 80,000 state and local governments provides many opportunities for special interests to alter programs. Sometimes the result is distortion sufficient to prevent achievement of the original objectives; a more likely result, however, is simply diversion of some funds so that the program appears successful even if it is inefficient. This latter outcome may even be in the interests of the originally intended beneficiaries if the special interests to whom funds are diverted are politically strong or are strategically located in the legislative or administrative process so that they can make the entire program larger than it would have originally been.
