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American Government and Organization

Learn about the types of interest groups, their influence on public policy, and the role of political participation in American government. Discover how lobbyists, PACs, and collective action shape the policy process.

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American Government and Organization

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  1. American Government and Organization PS1301 Monday, 22 March

  2. Announcements • Next midterm will be scheduled for Wednesday, April 7th (not Friday April 9th) • Please take the quiz in Chapter 10 • Please read the chapter, “Who Won and Who Lost? Interest Group Politics after September 11” in American Politics After September 11 on atomic dog website.

  3. Midterm Scores • Midterm grades will be posted later today on HH 214 • Mean score is 72 and top score of 92 (a considerable improvement from the first midterm) • Add 6 points to your score

  4. Why then would anyone vote? • Voting is the most common form of political participation • Many people also talk about politics and try to persuade others to vote • Very few participate in any other specific way.

  5. Interest Groups • An interest group is an organized body of individuals who share some goals and who try to influence public policy

  6. Types of Interest Groups • Economic interest groups • Business • Organized labor, ie. AFL-CIO, Teamsters • Agriculture groups • Professional associations, ie. American Bar Association, American Medical Association • Citizen groups • Broad vs. single issue groups • ie. Americans for Democratic Action, Greenpeace, National Rifle Association

  7. Logic of Collective Action • Collective goods and free riders • Why join? • Selective benefits of membership that are received by people who join the group • Material • Solidary • Expressive

  8. How Interest Groups Influence the Policy Process Inside Beltway Outside Beltway Direct Indirect

  9. Lobbying • Members of congress can be divided into (5) groups: • 1. Active, favors: get bills on the floor • 2. Inactive, favors. Lobbyists concentrate 80% of the efforts on these types of legislators they try to get the inactive members to become active • 3. Neutral (20%) • 4. Inactive, against • 5. Inactive, opposed • Basic Rules: when you see someone opposed to you, you don’t talk to them. Minimize contact and don’t bring up the issue • Contrary to conventional wisdom, lobbyists do not put pressure on members (or threaten them) because they don’t want to lose access. They are not “arm-twisters”.

  10. Political Action Committees (PACs) • PACs constitute the primary avenue by which interest groups contribute money to federal election campaigns • Federal campaign finance law prohibits PACs from giving more than $5,000 per election to any candidate seeking federal office. (primary, general, run-off elections are considered separate) • Types of PACs: see list of Pacronyms

  11. Growth in PACs

  12. Changes in PAC contributions to Congress • See Figure 10-3 p.335.

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