SB 1.4 5.6- Interests Groups Influencing Policy Making

5.6- Interests Groups Influencing Policy Making

This will be scored

Interest Groups

• An interest group is an organization of people whose members share policy views on specific issues and attempt to influence public policy to their benefit.

• Interest groups operate at every level of government in America’s federal system.

• Many Americans are skeptical of interest groups because the main way they influence policy is with money in the form of political donations.

• In fact, interest groups could be determined to be what Madison was referring to when he wrote about the dangers of factions in politics.

As Linkage Institutions

• Interest groups may represent very specific or more general interests, and can educate voters and office holders, draft legislation, and mobilize membership to apply pressure on and work with legislators and government agencies.

• Interest groups express their members’ preferences to government policymakers.

• Interest groups convey policy information to their members.

• Interest groups raise and spend money to influence policymakers.

Reasons Interest Groups Exist

• Broad Economic Development

• As the economy evolves, new interests are created and old interests need to be redefined.

• Stable economic times are less likely to produce interest groups.

• Farmers have had to change over the centuries from subsistence to commercial farming while adapting to unstable markets.

• The industrial revolution brought mass production that created the need for labor unions.

Multiple Choice

What does it mean to lobby?

• A measurement of how much the sample results might differ from sample universe
• To persuade government officials to support the polices their interest group favors
• The ideas and attitudes that signifcant number of americans hold about government and political issues
• A group of people that is to be studied

Multiple Choice

Which best describes the main objective of a lobbyist?

• To raise campaign funds for political parties.

• To influence public decision-making for the common good.

• to influence state legislators or members of congress on issues

• to advise political candidates on how to manager their election campaigns

Multiple Choice

What is an important difference between interest groups and political parties?

• Interest groups have more members than political parties.

• Interest groups have platforms addressing all issues of public concern.

• Interest groups are organized to elect their candidates to political office.

• Interest groups attempt to influence government directly on particular issues.

Government Policy

• Public policy has often fostered new interest groups.

• Wars create veterans who demand pensions and benefits and are willing to organize in order to obtain them.

• New Deal policy nurtured the rise of strong labor unions.

• Because state governments determine who is qualified to become a doctor, lawyer, or teacher, professional associations have emerged.

Emergence of Strong Leaders

• Magnetic leaders who are willing to make personal sacrifices draw an organized following that often develops into an interest group. These leaders are frequently young and energetic.

• The civil rights and antiwar movements of the 1960s are good examples of interest groups that developed because of strong leaders.

Expanding Role of Government

• As the scope of government activities continues to swell, more organized groups are monitoring those activities.

• Interest groups often serve as “government watchdogs” and inform people of the decisions made by our leaders.

• Interest group proliferation corresponds with the expansion of government activities over the past half century.

Multiple Choice

A lobbyist is

• A person who lobbies on behalf of a special interest group

• Someone who always represents the will of the people

• An elected official

Multiple Choice

How are interest groups different from political parties?

• Interest groups do not concentrate on influencing government policy and political parties do.

• Interest groups concentrate on influencing government policy and political parties concentrate on electing candidates.

• Interest groups use propaganda and political parties avoid using propaganda

• There is no difference between both interest groups and political parties.

Multiple Choice

What would be the most effective way for a special-interest group to try to influence the outcome of a presidential election?

• to conduct a public opinion poll

• to hire a lobbyist

• to hold a primary election

• to run television advertisements

Differences from Political Parties

• Political parties nominate candidates, contest elections, and seek to gain control over government.  

• In contrast, interest groups seek to support public officials and influence public policies. Interest groups support candidates, but do not run them for office.

• Political parties have positions on a wide range of public issues, making them policy generalists. In contrast, interest groups focus only on specific issues that directly affect their members. As a result, interest groups are better able to articulate specific policy positions.

• Political parties are public organizations that are accountable to the voters. In contrast, interest groups are private organizations that are accountable to their members.

Growth of Interest Groups

• Initial forms of interest groups included the Sons of Liberty and 19^th century abolitionists groups.

• In the late 19^th century, business and labor organizations began to appear. Since the 1960s, modern organizations include environmental, consumer, and political reform advocacy groups.

• Officials in the legislative and executive branches control the distribution of the trillions of federal dollars. As a result, most industries, corporations, professions, and unions now have interest groups to represent them in Washington, D.C.

• The number of interest groups has increased from 6,000 in 1959 to about 25,000 today.

Characteristics of Influential Advocacy Groups

• Size can be an important asset. A large interest group can marshal its members to email legislators, work in election campaigns, and participate in public protests.

• However, size is not always an asset. Political scientist E.E. Schattschneider noted that “pressure politics is essentially the politics of small groups.”

• Smaller groups are often more effective than large groups because they can organize more easily.

Characteristics of Influential Advocacy Groups (cont'd)

• Large groups are vulnerable to the free-rider problem. Free riders are people who benefit from an interest group without making any contribution. A consumer or union member often has no incentive to join an advocacy group if he or she will benefit from the group’s hard work without joining.

• As an interest group’s size increases, its free-rider problem also increases. Small business groups such as the Business Roundtable are able to organize their members more effectively than large public interest groups such as Common Cause. In addition, the Business Roundtable has a wealth of financial resources at its disposal.

Characteristics of Influential Advocacy Groups (cont'd)

• The larger the group, the more likely it is to fall short of providing an optimal amount of a collective good to its active and potential members (Olson’s Law). The primary way for large potential groups to overcome Olson’s Law is to provide attractive benefits for only those who join the organization.

Intensity

• Interest groups that contain passionately committed activists tend to be more successful than those groups whose members are less intensely involved.

• Because of their narrow focus, single-interest groups are able to mobilize members who are intensely committed to the group’s goals. For example, both pro-life and pro-choice interest groups have members who are passionately committed to their group’s goals.

Financial Resources

• All interest groups require adequate funding. Money is necessary to hire lobbyists, support PACs, write amicus curiae briefs, and pay for a host of other activities.

• Deep financial resources can compensate for a lack of size and intensity.

• Politicians are most likely to serve the needs of people or groups with the most money. Thus, wealthy interest groups tend to have greater access to decision makers.

Multiple Choice

Function that includes keeping voters aware of issues through campaigning

• Nominate candidates

• Inform & activate supporters

• Bonding agent

• Watchdog

Multiple Choice

Similarity between interest groups and political parties

• Seek change in the government

• Nominate candidates

• Focus on policy

• Cover a wide variety of issues

Multiple Choice

Seeking to influence a government official on an issue

• Bias

• Credibility

• Lobbying

• Negotiation

Types of Special Interest Groups

• Economic Interests

• Business Groups

• Most large corporations employ lobbyists to monitor legislative activity that may affect their business.

• The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) represents 12,000 small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector in all 50 states. It focuses on legislation affecting labor laws, minimum wages, corporate taxes, and trade regulations.

Types of Special Interest Groups (Cont'd)

• The Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation. It spends $20 million a year lobbying for its 3,000 local chambers and 3 million members.

• The Business Roundtable is an association of about 150 CEOs of leading U.S. corporations with $5 trillion in annual revenues and nearly 10 million employees.

Types of Special Interest Groups (Cont'd)

• Labor Unions

• The American labor movement reached its peak in 1956 when 33% of the nonagricultural workforce belonged to a union. Today it is about 13%.

• The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) is America’s largest labor union both in size and political power. About 10 million workers are members of unions belonging to the AFL-CIO

• The union shop requires new employees to join the union representing them.

  Right-to-work laws outlaw union membership as a condition of employment.

Multiple Choice

The relationship between legislators, the bureaucracy, and interest groups can be concerning because there is fear of corruption or abuse of power is referred to as 

• Checks and Balances
• The Federal Bureaucracy 
• The Iron Triangle

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT an effective action of an interest group?

• Lobbying
• PACs/Funding
• Ranking Legislatures
• All are effective actions of an interest group

Multiple Select

Select all of the actions that apply to interests groups:

• Form PAC's to influence government.

• Act as watchdogs to investigate possible government wrongdoings.

• Write letters to politicians to influence government.

• Hire Lobbyist to pay politicians and influence government.

Multiple Choice

A lobbyist is

• A person who lobbies on behalf of a special interest group

• Someone who always represents the will of the people

• An elected official

Types of Special Interest Groups (Cont'd)

• Agricultural Groups

• Although farmers comprise less than 2% of America’s population, their interest groups play an influential role in shaping agricultural policies.

• The Farm Bureau and the National Farmers Union are broad-based organizations that speak for farmers.

• Specialized interest groups represent different farm products. For example, the National Milk Producers Federation represents the interests of American dairy farmers.

Types of Special Interest Groups (Cont'd)

• Professional Associations

• The National Education Association (NEA) represents 3.2 million public school teachers, support personnel, and retired educators. The NEA is actively involved in the debate over how to implement the No Child Left Behind Act.

• The American Medical Association (AMA) is the nation’s largest association of physicians and medical students. The AMA is actively involved in proposals to reform the health care system

• The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association of 410,000 lawyers and law students. The ABA is actively involved in setting academic standards for law schools and in formulating ethical codes for the legal profession.

Types of Special Interest Groups (Cont'd)

• American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) 

• The AARP has the largest membership of any advocacy group.  

• It represents the interests of older Americans, focusing on issues such as life insurance, tax planning, and medical information.

Multiple Choice

Which of these is a social justice interest group?

• NAACP

• NFL

• NCAA

• AFC

Multiple Choice

The NAACP, AARP, and NRA are all examples of

• interest groups

• unions

• social clubs

Multiple Choice

This interest group fights for the elderly...

• AARP

• NCAA

• NAACP

• NRA

Environmental Groups

• Leading environmental advocacy groups include the Sierra Club, the Audubon Society, and the World Wildlife Fund.

• Environmental interest groups support wilderness protection, pollution control, and animal rights. They oppose strip mining, nuclear power plants, and offshore drilling.

• Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1893, the Sierra Club is the nation's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. 

Public Interest Groups

• Over 2,000 groups champion causes that promote the public good.

• Public interest groups support causes such as consumer rights, alternative sources of clean energy, and electoral reform.

• Leading public interest groups include Common Cause (government reform) and the League of Women Voters.

Equality Groups

• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is one of America’s oldest and most influential civil rights organizations. It is dedicated to fighting racial discrimination.

• The National Organization of Women (NOW) is the largest feminist organization in the United States. Its mission is “to take action to bring women into full participation in society—sharing equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities with men, while living free from discrimination.”

Single-Issue Groups

• Single-issue groups focus their efforts on one issue.

• The National Rifle Association is one of the best known and most influential single-issue groups. It works to uphold the right of people to bear arms for recreation and self-defense. In contrast, the Brady Campaign and the National Coalition to Bar Handguns are single-interest groups dedicated to gun control.

• The National Right to Life Committee opposes abortion, while Planned Parenthood lobbies for reproductive rights.

Protest Movements

• Protest movements develop in response to conditions perceived as negatively impacting specific groups of people.

• Protestors gear their strategies toward changing public policy in a way that benefits the adversely affected group.

• Recent protest movements have included Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter.

Multiple Choice

What type of interest group?

• Public Interest

• Professional

• Economic Interest

• Professional

Multiple Choice

What type of interest group?

• Economic

• Ideological

• Professional

• Single-Issue

Multiple Choice

What type of interest group?

• Public Interest

• Economic Interest

• Professional

• Single-Issue

Multiple Choice

What type of interest group?

• Single-Issue

• Ideological

• Economic

• Professional

Multiple Choice

This type of party focuses on one particular issue

• ideological

• splinter

• single issue

• parking lot

Multiple Choice

A ___ is a representative of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making.

• Lobbyists

• Politicians

• Candidates

• Democrats

Multiple Choice

A ___ is a representative of an interest group who contacts lawmakers or other government officials directly to influence their policy making.

• Lobbyists

• Politicians

• Candidates

• Democrats

Open Ended

According to the notes:

Describe two techniques interest groups use to influence elections.

Open Ended

Explain the relationship between iron triangles/issue networks and Interests Group