Chapter 9
The Interest-Group System Economic groups Business groups Labor groups Farm groups Professional groups © 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.2
The Interest-Group System Citizens’ groups Purposive incentives Groups based on social groupings Single-issue groups Ideological groups Citizens’ groups difficult to classify © 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.3
The Interest-Group System The organizational edge: economic groups versus citizens’ groups Unequal access to resources Private goods versus collective goods The free rider problem The advantages and disadvantages of size The size factor: business groups smaller and more efficient AARP and strength in numbers © 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.4
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© 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.7
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence through Official Contacts Acquiring access to officials Lobbying Congress Lobbying the executive Lobbying the courts © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.8
Inside Lobbying: Seeking Influence through Official Contacts Webs of influence: groups in the policy process Iron triangles Bureaucrats, lobbyists, legislators Small, informal, stable Issue networks Officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists Temporary More frequent than iron triangles © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.9
© 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.10
Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence through Public Pressure Constituency advocacy: grassroots lobbying Specialty of the AARP Members of the public try to get lawmakers’ attention © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.11
© 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.12
Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence through Public Pressure Electoral action: votes and money PACs (political action committees) Funneling a group’s election contributions PAC contributions limited to $10,000 per candidate for each election Most PACs associated with business Give much more heavily to incumbents © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.13
© 2015, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.14
Outside Lobbying: Seeking Influence through Public Pressure Electoral action: votes and money Super PACs or independent-expenditure-only-committees (IEOCs) Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) Not allowed to contribute/coordinate directly to the party or candidate Unrestricted fundraising and spending Disclosure of donors not required © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.15
The Group System: Indispensable but Biased The contribution of groups to self-government: pluralism Serving the “public interest”? Flaws in pluralism Interest-group liberalism Not equally representative © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.16
The Group System: Indispensable but Biased A Madisonian dilemma 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 © 2014, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.17