The policymaking system links the people with the government and allows the government to respond to the most urgent requests from the public. The system starts and ends with the American people, which is the core of democratic processes within the United States.

Within the policymaking system, people express their concerns and requests to linkage institutions such as the media and specific interest groups. These issues can then be placed on an official political agenda, in which the expressed interests of the public are then reviewed by bodies such as the different levels of court. These institutions translate the demands of the people into policies ranging from taxes to laws and regulations, and the impacts of these policies are then reflected back to the public.