Preview

Interest Groups

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
274 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Interest Groups
Interest Groups

I. What is an Interest Group?
II. Why do people Join Interest Groups?
III. Types of Interest Groups
IV. Interest Groups Incentives
V. Interest Group Strategists
VI. Regulating Lobbyists

I. Interest Group
Interest Group- An organized group of individuals having common goal and actively attempting to influence government policies.
Why have interest groups been so successful in the United States?
Variety of interest due to economic social cleavages among the members of the American society
Efficient Democracy
Accessible Government- Multiple points of access
Types of Interest Groups
Economic Interest Groups
1. Business
The US Chamber of Commerce
The Business Roundtable 2. Agriculture
The American Farm Bureau
National Farmer's Union

3. Labor
AFL- ClO 4. Public Employee
American Federation of State, Conty and Municipal Employees
American Federation of Teachers
National Education Association 5. Professional Organizations
American Bar Association (ABA)
American Medical Association (AMA)
Environmental Interest Groups
Sierra Club
National Wildlife Federation
Public Interest Groups
Nader Organizations
Common Cause
League of Women Voters
Special Interest Groups
NRA
National Abortion Rights Action League
Foreign Government
I. What makes an Interest Group powerful?
Size and Resources
Leadership
Cohesiveness (solidarity)

II. Incentives that IG's offer
Solidary Incentives- a reason or motive that follows from the desire to associate with others and to share with others particular interest or hobby
Material Incentives- a reason or motive based on the desire to enjoy a certain economic benefits or opportunities
Purposive Incentives-
III. Interest Group Strategies
Direct Techniques
Lobbying ( a private meetings, providing draft legislation, testifying before committees, social gatherings)
The ratings game
Campaign Assistance
Political Campaigns

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “An incentive is simply a means of urging people to do more of a good thing and less of a bad thing.” This quote from Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner explains why incentives are used in modern society. They are present to motivate someone to make a decision, whether it be a positive or negative one. Many times the average person thinks of an incentive as a term they are not familiar with, or that they don’t use on a daily basis. However, people everywhere use incentives on a daily basis to get what they want, whether they realize it or not.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    AP US Government

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An interest group is an organization of people who share a common interest and work together to protect and promote that interest by influencing the government. Interest groups vary greatly in size, aims, and tactics. Political scientists generally divide interest groups into two categories: economic and noneconomic.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Interest Groups in Texas

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In this essay I will compare and contrast the different legislative agendas of various interest groups involved with the Texas Government. An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest) is a collection of members that are determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. The essay will discuss the four kinds of interest groups, trade, professional, single and public, as well as provide one detailed example of each type. It includes examples from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, Texas AFT, MADD and TexPIRG interest groups, which are just a few of the many groups in existence out, but it provides an idea of what different types of interest groups are available and how they effect our government in Texas.…

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interest groups are groups of people that work together on the behalf of a particular belief or topic. They have had an increasingly large impact on American politics. One interest group that is currently experiencing a lot of power is the National Organization of Women, also known as NOW. They fight very strongly for the rights of all women no matter her background or ethnicity.…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interest groups influence the American government very heavily and have become motivation for public policy. An interest group is an organized group of individuals, who together, support and try to publicly persuade the government to adopt certain policies. All interest groups are different, varying in size, purpose, unity, influence, and resources. They can range from mass membership, to labor unions, to large corporations. Interest groups have been the center of American politics for a very long time. According to the writers of the Federalist Papers, they favored the Constitution in a way that would both ease and restrain the activity of interest groups. Throughout history, interest groups have been very prominent in influencing change, policies, and social movement.…

    • 827 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interest Group

    • 759 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A. The name of the organization is JStreetPAC; and the website of organization is jstreet.org…

    • 759 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Interest Group

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An interest group (also referred to as advocacy groups) is an organization organized by a special set of people with specific skills to lobby for or against a specific interest to benefit their cause. They usually lobby for one or more shared concerns to manipulate public policy and opinion especially in the U.S. Congress to benefit their cause, supporters, or one segment of society. They include a vast array of organizations such as: charitable organizations, civil right groups, corporations, professional and trade organizations, etc. Their main goal is to publicly or discreetly promoting and creating an advantage for its cause.…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interest Group Influence

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    “Interest Group Influence on the Patient Protection and Affordability Act of 2010: Winners and Losers in the Health Care Reform Debate” is an academic journal article by Jill Quadagno reporting the interest group activities that had to do with coverage expansions for the previously named laws. The Patient Protection and Affordability Act legislation included changes in state insurance exchanges, mandates on individuals and employers, expansion of Medicaid, subsidies to help low income people afford coverage, stringent regulations on insurance companies, cuts to Medicare Advantage but more drug benefits for senior citizens and restrictions on subsidies to be used to pay for abortion. With this in mind, Quadagno reports how interest groups affected the final law.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Interest Group

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Well I have to say that this is a very old video nearly twenty five years old, although the information was well presented. The examples with the AARP and the NRA was good as to explain the difference between the broad and narrow along with the quick explanation of a single issue groups. It did not leave me with any question as to the different types of groups. It could have used a few more examples of interest groups of both broad and narrow to give a different comparison on real situation that actually took place. Additionally, How lobbyist take action in getting their issues to the three different branches of government. Such as reports on how much a single type of interest group faired with issues as a result of their lobbying and putting pressure on different congressmen as well as the interest groups personal gains and benefits as a result on issues that they supported. No indication was given as the how much money was spent nor the slightest indication of what congressmen benefited if any. This makes me wonder if there are discloser laws that should be in place to prevent any wrong doing. Not to say that there was. The video, as old as it is provided very basic definition and really could have used a more current video with recent and current related issues of today. I felt more trusting with the example of the broad type Interest Group of the AARP then I did with the narrow Interest group of the NRA. I felt that the AARP was actually working not just for the members best interest but, for the elderly people in general across the nation and their families real issues. When compared to the NRA, The organization of the AARP from what I understood from the video didn't use scare tactics in getting its members active and campaign for certain causes. I can see how the AARP is one of the largest organization in the…

    • 1128 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Interest Groups

    • 2422 Words
    • 10 Pages

    * - An interest group is an organized body of individuals who share some goals and who try to influence public…

    • 2422 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    An Interest Group represents a group of people that have a similar issue or desire (Holyoke 2014, 11). An Interest group will not gain power by electing their member to office. By definition they only represent a small portion of the over all electorate anyway. They have an informal influence in government (Holyoke 2014, 11). Interest Groups may prefer and support candidates that favor their specific cause. But there is a distinct difference that hinders the replacement of one or the other.…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Roles Of Interest Groups

    • 1834 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Interests groups provide a link between the people and the government. Anyone can form an interest group if they wanted too. There are also so many different groups that one should be able to find one that helps them. Groups are constantly competing to gain a foot in on policy, this is what allows democracy to…

    • 1834 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    These interest group who have access to greater funds and ability to allow all of our voices to count equally because there has to be limit set in order to keep it from going overboard. In any thing that is done there should be always limitations so that it would not become caucus. Even though it is helping the public voice their opinions, think about the low income citizen who are in need of food to support their families, why not spend that money on giving away food during the holidays rather than spending it on politic. “As it is mention that more than 95 percent of the money are spend by lobbyist on food and beverages for state officials and their employees that was reported legally” (Analysis). A collective influence of interest groups does override the individual citizen’s ability to influence politics because some of the citizens show no interest in politic due to other issues they have which are more important. “Examples of 21st century interest groups are estates, guilds, and trading companies” (Interest Groups). These are more modern interest group which is more considered as voluntary association of individuals. Society divides the group into specialization groups. The international confederation of Freed Trade Unions is only recognized by international organization. These estates, guilds, and trading companies influence the lawmaking with road construction, money needed for the investment, home loans, and many more. They also represent the link of their membership with the community values of how they hold their place in the society. The economic, social, and political power interest group mainly translate into economic power that result into social power and they share with many parties by transforming with…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Interest groups play an important role in American politics. An interest group is an organization of people who share common political goals; they are united and their purpose is to influence government decisions. The formation of interest groups are usually based upon a common problem or threat. Examples of this would be the Sierra Club which was formed around environmental threats and the…

    • 1006 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Though the United States shares the same “Liberal Democracy” classification as its Western European brothers, there is substantive difference in the role an individual plays, and can play, in the shaping of their political system. The best example of differences between European and American political action is recognized in the role of interest groups. In those countries which most align themselves with the United States, namely Great Britain, France, and Germany, the role of interest groups is downplayed and only seen as a radical option for voicing political dismay. However, citizens of the United States are far more likely to voice their respective ideologies and beliefs via interest groups. As a result, interest groups play a much…

    • 2162 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays