Sharma 4
Gaurav Sharma Professor Sherry Sharifian Texas Government 2306 SLO#2 April 23,2017 Lobbyists and Interest Groups in Texas Lobbyists and Interest groups are generally significant in the country as they have the ability to influence decision making. Lobbyists are hired to specifically influence he decision makers in order to pass laws that are considerate depending with the interests of their employers. However, Lobbyists and Interest groups spend a lot when they arrange meetings with law makers in a bid to persuade them (Ramsey: 1).
1 According to the information provided in the articles, there should be tougher restriction as well as oversight of the interest groups who influence policy making. This is because the Interest groups are
…show more content…
Mostly, the interest groups provide information that could rather not benefit the citizens since they might not be aware. 1 Gun policies for example, is one of the policies influenced by Interest groups whereby a group like TSRPAC is important as it ensure that all the government official and other state officers (TSRAPAC: 1), as well as media and public are trained and informed about handling riffles (TSRAPAC: 1), and through this privileges, they influence the policy making about gun use as the second Amendment of gun law (TSRAPAC: 1). This interest group is important in that they ensure that people are protected by the law through the constitutional rights to possess and use riffles.
However, the activities of these interest groups should be highly monitored and specific limitations put by the government. Although the interest groups might influence the policy making while fully interested with the well-being of citizens, others are self-oriented and aims at convincing the policy makers to pass laws that favors a certain group of individual with common agenda hence impacting negatively the lives of other helpless
…show more content…
The interest groups are said use a lot of funds annually especially for food and entertainment so that they can spend significant time convincing these legislature on the policy making systems (Ramsey: 1). Over a period of 2 years, Lobbyists have reported usage of $4.8 million (Ramsey: 1) of food and beverages alone hence this shows that they actually take part in influencing the decision. The names of policy makers are mostly not disclosed although they should only be included in the Lobbyists reports when the expenses by the legislature exceeded $114, the names of those legislatures should be reported (Ramsey: 1). Therefore, the Lobbyists can ensure that they do not expose the beneficially of these special treatment through splitting their expenditures among several lobbyist so as to control anyone spending over $114 on a single law maker official (Ramsey: 1). Limitation of this usage can be done through limiting the number of Lobbyists that an Interest group can employ on a simultaneously. This will drastically reduce the expenditure since some groups hire more than 1 lobbyist (Ramsey: 1).
1 Examples of Interest groups in the 21st century include Texas NAACP which deals with civil liberties as well as Civil rights, Texas Moratorium Network that deals
Interest groups, lobbyists, large corporations, and PACs try to influence the congressional committees' bills so they can have a say in the legislative process. When an interest group hears about a bill that is being debated on in a committee, they try to influence a members vote and they try to get a part of the bill changed. For example, a lobbyist came to me on a bill I proposed on making health care plans have no minimum requirement on benefits the company gives to its patients. He told me about how he did not get the right treatments and tests done on diseases he has and now is suffering badly from them. It was because the health plan did not have to give him anything extra. He changed my mind on the bill, and I changed the bill to setting a minimum standard on benefits given to patients.
This investigation analyzes the influence of lobbyists on the legislative process in Congress. It is shown that influence is difficult to measure but with a variety of variables that come into play, it can be narrowed down. To examine how much influence lobbyists have over the legislative progress, this study focuses local political action studies and studies of the success of lobbyists in certain things they do.
xiii). Since the 1960s, when Lowi authored this text because he believed we were in a state of political crisis, interest groups have grown exponentially. This is due to growth in broad economic developments and growth and specific interests of citizens willing to take an active role in political processes. Interest group ideology has thrived on inadequate planning and overextension. Effective government requires formalities and moral legitimacy. Lowi argues that as long as well-moneyed interests do not grow to exercise an unjustly disproportionate amount of political capitol, interest groups should be welcomed in American politics as a means by which the average citizen can enjoy a greater amount of political efficacy. Lowi points out that nearly every area of government activity currently bears little relevance to the actual conditions they were designed for, and he calls for a return to older government that had consequences and held us responsible for consequences of political decisions because the current system does nothing to aid those who need government support the most, those one welfare and involved in those programs. Instead it is a power-grabbing money pool open for interest groups to take a hold of it,
By establishing this relationship, the interest groups are indirectly helping the executive agencies get their funds and the interest groups gains favorable regulations and contracts from these agencies in exchange. (429) Although some critics argue that interest groups can result to Corruption such as the case with Jack Abramoff (438), Demosclerosis that slows down government functions (439), and Inequality by tilting democracy to the wealthy and powerful since they are the ones who can afford lobbying services (440), I believe that Interest groups are good for democracy. We define democracy as a government in which the people rule and make decisions for themselves, and through interest groups the people are given the chance to be better represented and become actively involve in decision-making. Interest groups represent the people specially the minority, arguably expand the range of perspectives that government officials hear, facilitate a two-way communication between the people and the government by conveying citizen views to government officials and providing information about government activities to the people, encourage
We elect politicians on the basis on the issues by which they stand, and these issues are either held up or weakened by the numerous interest groups that exist today. Interest groups target both major and minor issues, using all of their resources to sponsor or overpower the groups’ concern. Interest groups are composed of a limited range of the body of voters who have a great stake in the issues their group support. They make evident the issues their group supports. Their resources are used in an attempt to make their issue public policy. Interest groups are persistent; they do not give up until they succeed. They lobby congress, take legal action, and attempt to influence election results in order to benefit their cause. ”The AARP monitors local and national legislation of interest to its members.”1 The AARP, an example of a non-PAC interest group, focus their efforts to electioneering and media. They influence the elections through their voter guides, election forums and the large senior voting population. Through television, radio, and periodicals the AARP is able to achieve many of their goals to aid retired persons.
The NRA, National Rifle Association, is a group with ever growing interest in our society today. With the rise of gun related violence and public shootings has both promoted and hurt the reputation of the NRA. Not only has the NRA been a large talking point, but gun reform overall too. With the rise of violence with the use of guns, Gun control has been a big dilemma congress is trying to overcome. The big discussion is how far the government should go with gun control without overstepping the second amendment. Many people want large gun reform, but the NRA is the protector of the second amendment to a sense, in turn stepping up their involvement. This has turned many people against the NRA and many people believe they are a anti-safety and a narrow minded both politically and racially. Before we can evaluate who the NRA is today and what the stand for, we must first know how their public image has progressed.
A lobbyist, as defined by Kenya Beard, is an attempt to influence specific legislation, that a group may or may not support so that the politician may make informative decisions in shaping policy (Beard, 2015). This provided information is regarded as
Pluralism and Elitism go hand in hand because pluralism argue that interest groups are good for American and Texas democracy. Dominant interest groups in Texas influence many public policies as well as act as an avenue for democratic political participation. Dominant interest groups include the Texas Association of Business (TAB), Texas Medical Association (TMA), Texas Taxpayers and Research Association (TARA), National Rifle Association (NRA) and so forth. These interest groups work to influence policymakers and policy implementers. Pluralism is
Interest groups have different techniques to become more powerful and influential. Political parties also have much influence over the government as much as interest groups do. There is much history with our political parties and our strategies to convince each other to choose the right side.
Do they play an important role in our democracy since they claim that they represent many people? There has been a continuing debate over the proper role of interest groups in the United States democracy. Interest groups are organized group of individuals who share the same ideas and their main goal is to influence media, lawmakers, and people with their ideas. On one hand, interest groups members and their leaders assert that they offer crucial information and services to the lawmakers and that lawmakers aren’t experts regarding every bill proposed
Essentially, interest groups use many different tactics to accomplish their central goals but this paper will detail 2 of them. The first being lobbying, which is the act of persuading businesses as well as government leaders to help a specific organization by changing laws or creating events in favor of that group. Interest groups use this technique by hiring someone to represent them and advocate their cause to on the behalf of the entire group. These hired representatives usually have more than enough experience within the political field and are able to persuade connections within the government for help with their concerns. This method gets a lot of criticism because although lobbyist offer their input to government officials on pending laws, they only look at what is favorable for their cause. When trying to make a difference you have to not only reflect on your argument but on the side affects of that argument as
Lobbying involves more than persuading legislators. Professional lobbyists investigate and examine legislation or dogmatic proposals, are present at congressional hearings, and teach government officials and company officers on imperative issues. Lobbyists in addition work to transform public opinion all the way through advertising campaigns or by control 'opinion leaders'. There are approximately 30,000 recorded lobbyists, other than that does not comprise the public relations experts, marketers, support personnel pollsters, and others who support their work. The majority lobbyists are hard–working professionals who comprehend how to find the way the political process, gain access to lawmakers and main executive–branch officials, and construct a strategy to accomplish their legislative objective. Whether or not you like the renowned place they engage in our system, lobbyists have turn out to be such an essential part of...
These pluralistic interest groups are free to operate and lobby in the political arena, fighting against the majority and other competing factions for voice in Congress. With the influence of multiple factions operating throughout the political system, a balance of power is created (Kernell 2000, 429). This is much like the international theory of sovereign states balancing each other’s power to create a political system that focuses on stability, yet is always in a constant flux of power. With this in mind, special interest groups are constantly contending for power by raising money, campaigning, and lobbying in Congress. When a special interest group is threatened by a competing policy, the group will organize efforts to balance, or transcend the power of the competing group.
Interest groups are an interesting part of politics that usually gets overlooked. The term interest group is self-explanatory but the definition can be a bit more politically thorough: An organized group that tries to influence the government to adopt certain interests, policies, or measures also called pressure group. Interest group refers to virtually any voluntary association that seeks to publicly promote and create advantages for its cause. America is a melting-pot of races, religions, languages, cultures, beliefs, and ideas, yet it only
B.) As stated in the case study, lobbyists provide the elected representatives with information. Lobbyists spend lots of time learning the pros and cons of subjects, using their knowledge to educate lawmakers. Another reason why they are helpful to our officials is that lobbyist sometimes helps whip bills.