An iron triangle is defined as a three-sided, mutually advantageous relationship between members of Congressional Committees, Bureaucrats, and interest groups. Most of the Congressional Committees and Subcommittees have relationships with the agencies whose programs they authorize and appropriate money for. The committees and the bureaucrats from the agencies have close relationships with interest groups that want to influence policy.
The literal components of an iron triangle such as one involving agriculture, includes key members of the House and Senate committees on Agriculture (such as a committee chairman), officials from the US Department of Agriculture (such as a director of a division), and lobbyists who represent an interest group such as the American Farm Bureau Federation. The relationship is simple. The USDA does what the committees want because the (House)committees have the "power of the purse" and in return the USDA gets political support and budget appropriations. The Committees do what the AFBF wants in return for votes and campaign contributions.
These iron triangles exist at the local and state levels as well. For example, one could exist between the North Carolina Farm Bureau, the North Carolina Congressional committees on Agriculture and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture. This iron triangle may ensure that hog farmers receive state money from the "Rainy Day Fund" to create sanitary means of hog waste disposal.
The iron triangle is a form of client politics, that is, it is only beneficial to few, but a large part of society will pay the cost. They are also very difficult to penetrate or influence from outside of the iron triangle. Even presidents have a great deal of difficulty penetrating them. This is, for the most part, not democratic. The voters only have influence over the members of Congress involved. The essential control of the law lies with the interest group.
Disasters can be so impactful; some can forever change the course of history. While many at the time thought this story would soon pass, and with it all the potential bad publicity, the story of the Triangle fire spread quickly, and outraged many people. On a beautiful spring day in March 1911 when 146 workers lost their lives, a fire would prove it could do what years of reformers had failed to do, get the government on the side of the workers. I would argue that the fire largely impacted the country. Specifically, the Triangle Fire ended up changing New York’s interconnected political and economic scene, and spurred on the creation of stricter safety codes. For the first time owners would hold responsibility for their actions. Max Blanck and Isaac Harris; being indicted for manslaughter was proof of this. Social change seemed to be spurred as well; the general public and newspapers would come back the workers of New York. Large institutions would suffer as well. Tammany Hall would be feared less and less by waves of new immigrants. The largest change brought about by the blaze would be legislation. Twenty-five bills, recasting the labor laws of the state
“The ‘Triangle’ company, “With blood this name will be written in the history of the American workers’ movement, and with feeling will this history recall the names of the strikers of this shop- of the crusaders” (Von Drehle 86). Even before it happen, the Forward predicted the terrible disaster of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory that occurred one year, one month, and seventeen days later (86). Triangle: The Fire that Changed America, by David Von Drehle tells the story of the horrible fire.
Life in the early 1900’s wasn’t easy. Competition for jobs was at an all time high, especially in New York City. Immigrants were flooding in and needed to find work fast, even if that meant in the hot, overcrowded conditions of garment factories. Conditions were horrid and disaster was inevitable, and disaster did strike in March, 1911. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York set on fire, killing 146 workers. This is an important event in US history because it helped accomplish the tasks unions and strikes had tried to accomplish years earlier, It improved working conditions in factories nationwide and set new safety laws and regulations so that nothing as catastrophic would happen again. The workplace struggles became public after this fire, and the work industry would never remain the same again.
Hamilton provides an inside look at how congress really works and clears up popular misconception that make members of congress look like wasteful bickering crooks that support gridlock and are only concerned with the needs of interest groups and lobbyists. Hamilton argues that Congress has changed for the better throughout the years and that they are held at higher standards than they were before. Hamilton states that Congress is not only working at keeping the public happy but that have recently become faced with a lot more issues than before, they are not only more issues but more complicated and technical that are very high risk policies that take a long time to produce a decision (Hamilton, 1988, 65). Hamilton states that Congress is a system in which the viewpoints of everyone are taken into account and make sure there is a consensus when it comes to defining decisions. Even though many of us acknowledge that lobbyist and special interest groups play an essential role in the law making party, Congress is making an effort to make sure that everyone’s voice is heard. Congress is making sure that the balance of power is distributed properly. In recent years, there has been a decline in mega-lobbies and interest groups so that not only the wealthy powerful get their voice heard, but the everyday american people get an opinion in things that affect them as well. In Gary Lee’s article, The NRA Has Lost some Firepower, we can see that interest groups are beginning to have less of an influence on larger political decisions (Hamilton, 1988, 65). For example, the National Rifle Association’s defeat in the battle over the “Brady bill” and their war towards trying to revamp Medicaid was a great loss for lobbyists and
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.
The Triangle Fire made a lasting impact on the future of America. March 25th, 1911, a day that changed everything. Fire engulfed the three stories of the Triangle Waist Company. Family members, firemen, and friends could only watch by the sidelines as 146 girls and boys perished. The vision of girls jumping from the windows to escape being burned alive, broke down even the most seasoned Fire Chief sending him down to the street with quivering lips. In 1910, 13 weeks on strike most companies accepted the unions’ demands but Triangle Waist Company denied the union, giving higher wages and shorter hours. If Triangle Waist Company had accepted the union, would the 146 girls and boys lived? The fire was a terrible tragedy that will never be forgotten but it changed the Industrial life. Following the Fire there was industrial reform, passing of legislation, and it led to women’s suffrage.
Informal linkage institutions influence formal linkage institutions, the groups effectively inform legislatures about their views in hopes of gaining influence over them. These groups also allow Americans to display their views and maintain their freedom of speech. When interest groups combine for a common purpose, they become stronger and louder, which allows everyday citizens to gain an active role in their government.
Recently, the debate of whether bipartisanship has completely left this country incapacitated due to the lack of cooperation between Senators and House members with conflicting opinions has grown especially due to the Clinton Impeachment Debates. Many individuals feel that the only reason William Jefferson Clinton was impeached in the House was due to the fact that the majority of the House is republicans. This research proposal will attempt to define if the concept of bipartisanship does exist. If it does exist, what are the contributing factors to it (convincing individuals, convincing corporations, money, the Senators or House member’s families)? These can be considered to be the independent variables. Presently, the Internet consists of numerous, almost uncountable, sources on bipartisanship. Many magazines and newspapers are major contributors to this subject as well. The amount of scandal contributing to this particular issue creates a level of curiosity that intrigues all aspects of this society. When the public seems to want press on a particular issue, they seem to get it.
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.
Alliance while although good overall also happen to drag other countries into each other’s internal affairs. For E...
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
When creating and enforcing federal policies each of these 3 factions within the triangle influence one another in what is called sub-governments. Depending on how well each of these factions interact and build relationships with one another it can be a base for a strong control over policies in any area. This entire process of the iron triangle starts with interest groups and their support with congress in areas such as funding, electoral support or even information surrounding politics. By doing this for congress, interest groups gain assistance in areas that directly benefit their individual cause such as laws being passed in their favor. The bureaucrats on the other hand get their funding directly from decisions that congress members make. Congressional funding and the power to oversee operations allow members of congress to have a slight advantage of this faction of the iron triangle. Yet Bureaucrats do have the power to render policies that can be either beneficial or detrimental to congress leaving both factions needing to be in each other’s good graces. Lastly the relation between interest groups and bureaucrats intertwine because of the support each of the factions can give to each other based on special favors. Bureaucrats can implement programs that are not highly regulated while
It can be argued that event without the “hereditary orders,” a distinction of interests can be found and were discussed in several papers. Interests will vary from state to state, from the rural farmers to the businessmen of the cities. These distinctions were discussed in Federalist No. 10 as factions. While the hierarchy of such interests is not related to nobility as found in England, a faction is defined here as a number of citizens who are united and motivated by common interests adverse to the rights of other citizens or to the interests of the community. It is proposed that there are only two methods of curing the adverse effects of factions: by removing its causes or by controlling its effects. The intent of the proposed system of checks and balances seeks to cure selfish interest by the latter. Power to any one person or branch would be limited by the other branches, preventing any person, branch, or faction from gaining an excess amount of power and leverage towards their own interests rather than the collective interests of the people.
Iron comes from the Latin word ferrum. From ferrum its symbol became Fe. The atomic number of iron is 26, and its atomic weight is 55.845. Iron is a magnetic, bendable, shiny white metallic element.
The “advocacy explosion” in the United States in the 20th century has been caused by the extreme increase in the number of interest groups in the United States. The general public views the increase and the groups themselves as a cancer that has come to the body of American politics and is spreading. The explosion in the number of interest groups and interest group members and finances has had an effect on the decline of the American political party and partisanship, the effect on democracy and the public interest, and the bias that has come with interest group competition.