This paper compares how the lobbying industries influence the government-business relation for U.S. and China. It is composed of four parts. The first part is an introduction on lobbying, which will explain different categories of lobbying with analyzing the advantages and disadvantages for each of them. The second part will focus on comparing the political system between U.S. and China. Moreover, it will explain how the political system influences the lobbying industries. The third part will illustrate how the distinction in economic system leads to different government-business relations and therefore shape the political outcomes. The fourth part will discuss specific cases in lobbying in both U.S and China. The concluding part will summarize how the difference in lobbying industries occur and try to predict the future of lobbying industries in U.S. and China. What is lobbying “In Washington DC, connection is power, power is money. “ Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies . In the U.S, lobbying is sometimes considered as the “fourth branch of government” or the “third house of congress”. Four lobbying strategies are widely used in U.S: direct lobbying, indirect lobbying, grassroots lobbying and political action committee (PAC). All of them have its advantages and disadvantages. The interest groups usually will choose one or more strategies to lobby according to the political situation and the natural of problem. The direct lobbying is the most traditional way to lobby and so far it is the most effective and widely used strategy. Interest groups or citizens pay lobbyists to get the access to certain legislative ... ... middle of paper ... ...ongress than on the executive branch. Second, the U.S. is experiencing a period of divided government compare with the twentieth century . The more divided the government, the more difficult for the lobbying activities. Instead of targeting a number of congressmen with similar ideologies, they need to identify the right people to mobilize. Third, more and more interest groups occurred nowadays, which means that businesses and trade associations have to share the public policy playing field with many more participants. Also, it makes the information collection even more difficult for public relation firms. For example, the occurrence of numerous think-tanks nowadays devotes their attention to generating and shape current governmental deliberations. Moreover, this phenomenon indicates that these interest groups need to compete for the attention of policy makers.
of corrupting government officials, taxivision, and fraud. Many lobbyist today are doing a lot of the same things Abramoff did but in a legal ways due to loopholes in the proposal. The government has invested into the use of watchdogs but are they really effective hence their are so many loopholes to get around all the prohibited ideas. The United States needs to tighten lobbying restrictions to help better where all the wasted bribing money could
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.
in lobbying policy makers, the role of business in financing elections, and messages favorable to
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.
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.
There are many different definitions of what a pressure group is Peter Lynch argues that a pressure groups is ‘Private, voluntary associations that wish to influence or control particular public policies, without becoming the government and controlling all public policy (Lynch, 2007, p. 245). Another definition is ‘Pressure groups are social aggregates with some level of cohesion and shared aims which attempt to influence the political decision-making process’ (Ball, A.R. and Millard, F, 1986, pp. 33-4). A final definition is ‘A pressure group is any organization that aims it influence public policy by seeking to persuade decision-making by lobbying rather than by standing for election’ (Coxall, 2001, p. 3). Overall pressure groups exist to help groups of people or causes, to promote their interest and will try to influence a certain section of society whether it is the government or the general p...
Campaign Finance reform has been a topic of interest throughout the history of the United States Government, especially in the more recent decades. There are arguments on both sides of the issue. Proponents of campaign finance limits argue that wealthy donors and corporations hold too much power in elections and as a result they can corrupt campaigns. Those who favor less regulation argue that campaign donations are a form of free speech. One case in particular, Citizens United vs. The Federal Election Commission has altered everything with pertaining to Campaign Finance.
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
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 going to the legislature trying to bring awareness to their group is called lobbying. Lobbyists try to influence officials working in all three branches and in the federal bureaucracy. The legislative branch has the most interaction with lobbyist considering the congress and the senate can change and create laws that effect each interest group. Interest groups spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year to lobby members of Congress on a range of issues. The Executive branch of government deals with interests groups in the main way of dealing with the masses.
In addition to the Congress being made up of 535 officials, there is an imbalance between the House and Senate. The purpose for this is to ensure that there are no distinct popularity in the community within any affiliated member of Congress. However, due to the lack of popularity, no affiliate of Congress is well known, which hinders their ability to persuading people. So, if any affiliate of Congress wants to nominate a radical change in policies, rules/regulations, he or she will have a difficult time reaching out to most Americans, and getting their attention regarding the matter they are attempting to
In the United States, corporate powers and private interest groups have been allowed to take far to much control over the creation and enforcement of environmental regulations and policy. This overstepping of boundaries has influenced the actions of politicians on every level, but one dangerous overstep is into the world of environmental politics. Corporations and private interest groups have a lot to lose if stringent environmental policy goes into place in the United States, and therefore these groups are willing, and unfortunately able, to fight back.
...k for big business, a private individual, or even the public. The goals and strategies are the same for all lobbyist. Foremost, they must be very good at the art of persuasion, the mainstay of their job. They figure out how to sway politicians to vote on legislation in a way that favors the interest they represent. In our American democracy, people that are not elected representatives shape the laws of our country. If we continue down this path, our democracy will also one day be extinct. We need to get back to the roots of democracy and remember what the true meaning is. Power to the People!
...re both powerful groups with extensive recognition from businesses and the government, as a result of their direct forms of action and dedicated campaigns on global issues. In conclusion, pressure groups must consider the influencing factors of success, combined with the fluctuating business environment. Greenpeace and PETA have managed to exercise power successfully through indirect and direct action, in both peaceful and controversial methods. This has created a high standard to which sets a pedestal for smaller not-for-profit bodies and pushes other groups to create unique campaign strategies. Finally, it appears the collaboration between pressure groups and supra-national governance is one of the most effective approaches for influence in the business environment, as it leads to powerful connections, thus enhancing the pressure groups reliability and influence.
But what are political campaigns? - Political campaigns are organized efforts that seek to influence the decision making process inside a country. Political campaigns in democracies mostly refer to the electoral process where representatives are chosen by the society (Unknown).