By its very nature, the complex and fragmented system of government in the United States increases the likelihood of stalemate in the policy process because of the number of institutions and individuals involved in policymaking, review, and concurrence (Mezey 1989; Thurber 1991). In one, perhaps extreme, example of what can happen in a local government, Jeffrey Pressman and Aaron Wildavsky (1979) found a minimum of seventy clearance points necessary before the Economic Development Administration in Oakland, California, could successfully implement a policy.