Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. CHAPTER 9 Interest Groups: Organizing for...

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ntation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. CHAPTER 9 Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence

Transcript of Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas. CHAPTER 9 Interest Groups: Organizing for...

Presentation by Eric Miller, Blinn College, Bryan, Texas.

CHAPTER 9

Interest Groups: Organizing for Influence

E. E. Schattschneider

The flaw in the pluralist heaven is that the heavenly chorus sings with a strong

upper-class bias.

The Interest Group System

The interest-group system includes all interests that are organized and seek political goals

Interest group = a faction Typical Interest group functions

Supporting candidates for public office Working to influence legislators and

policymakers Promoting public policies

The difference between political parties and the typical interest group- the party addresses a broad range of issues

The Interest Group System

James Madison- the source of most interest

groups or factions is the unequal distribution of property

Worried that gov. would be dominated by groups but recognized that a free society must allow the advocacy of self-interest- Federalist no. 10

The Interest Group System

Reasons for so many groups: American tradition of free association the wide diversity of interests that exist in

America America’s federal system- multiple gov. entities

The Interest Group System

Alexis de Tocqueville describes America as “a nation of joiners”

Citizens of the U.S. are more actively involved in interest groups and community causes than other nations

Interest group activity is basic to democracy because it promotes the concern of various interests in society

The Interest Group System

Economic Groups The organizational edge: economic groups versus citizens’

groups Private (Individual) goods vs. collective (public) goods

Private- Material Incentive i.e. higher wages, lower taxes, subsidies Public- clean air & water, protection of individual rights

The free rider problem- non-members get these benefits for free The size factor: business groups smaller and more efficient

The Interest Group System

Economic Groups Types of Economic

Groups Business Groups

the most fully organized

Labor Groups Agricultural Groups Professional Groups

Percentage Union Members, by Sector and Industry

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The Interest Group System Citizens’ Groups

Purposive Incentives The satisfaction of contributing to a worthy goal or purpose

Collective (Public) Goods cannot be selectively denied to individuals The air we breathe = collective good

The Free-Rider Problem individuals get the benefit without belonging to the group to overcome this groups have created benefits for members

The Interest Group System

Citizens’ Groups Types of Citizens’ Groups

Public-Interest Groups- NAACP Single-Issue Groups- NRA Ideological Groups- MoveOn

concerned with a wide number of issues

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The Interest Group System

A Special Category of Interest Group: Governments States, cities, and other governmental units

in the U.S. lobby heavily Foreign governments are prohibited from

certain lobbying activities Pressure through their embassies with paid

lobbyists in Washington

Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts

Acquiring Access to Officials Policy support- Based on providing useful and

persuasive information to key officials Campaign Contributions- Money is key element—

amount contributed is staggering K Street- 20,000+ lobbyists in DC

Regulated by: Lobbying Disclosure Act-1995 &Honest Leadership & Open

Government Act-2007 Requires lobbyists to register and file detailed reports

of activities “Revolving door” – Capitol Hill to K Street

Some top officials are former lobbyists

Total Spending on Lobbying of Federal Government

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Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts

Lobbying Congress Most significant resource that groups offer candidates

= $$$ Lobbying Executive Agencies

Targets include POTUS & presidential staff Top officials in executive agencies

“Agency capture”- over time the agencies tend to favor the industries they are supposed to regulate-

Lobbying the Courts Initiating lawsuits- i.e. ACLU Lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the

bench

Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts

Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process Iron Triangles

Small and informal but stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest

Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Official Contacts

Webs of Influence: Groups in the Policy Process Issue Networks

Informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who are brought together temporarily by their shared interest in a particular policy problem

Generally more frequent but less stable than iron triangles

Members of an issue network may change as the issue develops

Once the issue is settled, the network disolves

Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure

Constituency Advocacy: Grassroots Lobbying Grass-roots lobbying = pressure from

constituents Members of the public try to get lawmakers’

attention AARP

largest citizen group- over 30 million Difficult to assess influence

Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence Through Public Pressure

Electoral Action: Votes and PAC Money PACs

4000+ PACs funneling a group’s election

contributions contributions limited to $10,000

per candidate for each election Most PACs associated with

business Tend to contribute money to

incumbents 8x as much to incumbents

Amount of influence? Too much? vs. right to be heard Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

1st Amendment issue

Percentage of PACS by Category

The Group System: Indispensable but Biased

The Contribution of Groups to Self-Government: Pluralism Serving the “public interest”?

Flaws in Pluralism: Interest-Group Liberalism and Economic Bias The tendency of officials to support demands of the interest

groups Liberal- the habit of using government to promote group interests Neither party is “conservative” in the sense of being reluctant to

use gov. power to promote groups Not equally representative

Organization is an unequally distributed resource Economic groups are the most highly organized Nearly 2/3 of all lobbying groups are business related

The Group System: Indispensable but Biased

A Madisonian Dilemma Madison’s solution to the problem of factions

actually contributes to the problem by the fragmentation of authority among policymakers thereby providing more groups more opportunities to get their way Federalist #10- A free society must allow pursuit of

self-interest Checks and balances work to protect rights, but

also exaggerate influence of minorities Groups can wield too much influence over

individual policies or agencies

States in the Nation