Gov Interest Groups

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Interest GroupsAn interest group is an

organization of people whose

members share policy views onspecic issues and attempt toinuence public policy to theirbenet. They operate at every

level of government inAmerica’s federal system.

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in!age Institution"#ow do they lin! citizens to

government$

%. They e&press their members’ preferences togovernment policyma!ers.

'. They convey government policy info to theirmembers.

(. They raise and spend money to inuencepolicyma!ers.

). They are di*erent from political parties. +oliticalparties are public organizations that are

accountable to the voters. Interest groups areprivate organizations that are accountable to

their members.

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,hy Interest Groups

form in the -nited tates%. The freedom to spea!/ assemble and petition

0%st Amendment1 facilitates group formation

'. The federal structure of government

(. - 0compared to other countries1 is racially/ethnically/ and religiously diverse.

). ocial changes/ economic pressures/technological developments/ and government

action.

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Getting people to 2oin

%. Interest groups nd it di3cult toattract new members and !eep

current members.

"ac! of political e3cacy" unwilling to

bear the costs/ such as the dues ortheir time or e*ort. +eople assumethat the group will succeed without

them.

"The 4ree"rider problem is when peopledo not 2oin for these reasons but

e&pect to share the benets of thegroup reaches its goal.

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Getting people to 2oin

'. To overcome free"rider problem/ groups o*er avariety of benets to attract members.

"+sychological 5 6feel good7 satisfaction

"ocial" host meetings/ dinners/ other activities tocreate feeling of solidarity among members.

"8conomic" discounts on insurance/ travel/magazines

(. ome people 2oin because they are coerced.

Ie" bar associations in several states for lawyers 9employees in certain trades are re:uired to 2oin the

labor union.

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,ho 2oins in a nation of 2oiners$

%. ;ot everyone. ome people are moreinclined to 2oin than others.

"Those with more education and income

are more li!ely to 2oin because theyare more interested/ can a*ord

membership dues/ and have moretime to participate.

"<en more li!ely to 2oin than women."8lderly and middle"aged participate at

higher rates than young.

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4ormal membership in interest groupshas decreased/ but membership in issueadvocacy groups is increasing.

"chec!boo! members"writing anoccasional chec! to supportorganization’s leaders and activities 0but

do not interact face to face/ as membersof the group1.

"=irtual members of groups

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 Types of Interest Groups

>3cials in the legislative and e&ecutivebranches control the distribution ofbillions of federal dollars.

<ost industries/ corporations/professions/ and unions now have

interest groups to represent them in,ashington ?@.

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 Types of Interest Groups

Private interest groups see! economicbenets for their members or clients.

"Includes business/ labor/ and agriculturegroups.

Public interest groups are those that wor!for a cause that e&tends beyond the members

of the group."Today there are at least 'BB public interestgroups with )B million members.

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abor groups

%. The American labor movementreached its pea! in %DE when (( F ofthe nonagricultural wor! forcebelonged to a union. Today/ %E million

Americans/ or about %(F of thenonagricultural wor! force/ belong to aunion.

'. The American 4ederation of abor and@ongress of Industrial >rganizations0A4"@I>1 is Americas largest laborunion both in size and political power.

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Agricultural Groups%. Although farmers comprise less than 'F of

America’s population/ their interest groupsplay an inuential role in shaping agriculturalpolicies.

'. The 4arm Cureau and the ;ational 4armer’s

-nion are broad"based organizations thatspea! for farmers.

(. pecializes interest groups represent di*erentfarm products. 0;ational <il! +roducers4ederationH interests of American dairyfarmers.

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+ublic Interest Groups

%. upport causes such as consumerrights/ alternative sources of cleanenergy/ and electoral reform.

'. ome e&amples are @ommon @auseand the eague of ,omen =oters.

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8nvironmental Groups

%. upport wilderness protection/pollution control/ and animal rights.>ppose strip mining/ nuclear power

plants/ and o*shore drilling.

'. eading environmental interestgroups include the ierra @lub/ the

Audubon ociety/ and the ,orld,ildlife 4und.

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8:uality Interests

%. ;AA@+ is one of America’s oldest and mostinuential civil rights organizations. It isdedicated to ghting racial discrimination.

'. ;>, is the largest feminist organization inthe -. Its mission is 6to ta!e action tobring women into full participation insociety"sharing e:ual rights/

responsibilities/ and opportunities withmen/ while living free from discrimination.7

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ingle"Issue Groups

%. ingle"Issue groups focus theire*orts on one issue. +ro"life and pro"choice groups.

'. The ;ational ie Association is oneof the best !nown and mostinuential single"interest groups.

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Interest Group Goals andtrategies

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trategies of InterestGroups

%. Initiating Action" Interest groupsinitiate governmental action that willhelp them.

'. Cloc!ing Action"Interest groups wor!to bloc! governmental action that willharm them/ doing the reverse of what

groups do to initiate action.

(.Inuencing Appointments

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obbying @ongress

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obbying @ongress

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obbying the e&ecutivebranch

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obbying the courts

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+A@s and 'Js"contributing money to

campaigns+olitical Action @ommittees 0+A@s1"committee formed by business/ labor/or other interest groups raise anddonate money to election campaigns.

'J organizations" raise and spendmoney on political advertising.

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+A@s and 'Js"<ost large interest groups and corporationshave a +A@/ and an increasing number ofgroups have formed a 'J organization.

"Coth authorized by federal law regulatingthe ow of money to political candidatesand use of money for political advertising.

"The amount of money that +A@s cancontribute directly to an individualcandidate is limited by law.