While ill-structured problems create difficulties for budget programming, they are technically no different from known and structured problems. The development and use of accurate forecasting methodologies, as will be explained in chapter 4, can render these problems manageable from the perspective of resource efficiency. An additional variable in dealing with ill structured problems is that they usually cut across institutional lines. The problems themselves may be technically simple but institutionally messy. Multiple institutional responsibilities for such areas as mine safety can produce different problem definitions that dilute both accountability and responsibility for policy execution, through various forms of shirking behavior. In other areas, regulatory agencies such as the Federal Aviation Agency may have multiple conflicting responsibilities (air traffic promotion versus air safety regulation) that can compromise policy results. In many cases, because of opposing client pressures on responsible institutions, there are major disincentives for these actors to define problems as clearly or as objectively as possible
For example, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 (then-President Reagan"s new drug policy) attempted to define and resolve a major ill-structured problem, drug abuse. First, in the drug abuse area there are very few agreed-upon societal values, only those of conflicting individuals and groups. All constituencies (except suppliers) would like to see drug use reduced, but consensus largely ends there. For example, even a shared understanding of addiction is elusive. Do drugs give addicts a habit, or do addicts make a habit of drug? It may be that addiction is related to a damaging mix of biochemistry and bad social conditions.