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Government Interest Groups

1684 Words7 Pages

The effect of the interest group on any scale is both undoubtable and enormous. However, in a presidential campaign, and even more so in a presidency, their impact is exponentially greater than it would be in a local or state government campaign. Throughout history, interest groups have made possible and greatly influenced campaigns and therefore, their subsequent presidencies. By donating millions upon millions of dollars to fund candidates, interest groups, whose members usually include multi-billion dollar corporations or billionaires, essentially gain a substantial voice in important political decisions that may influence the entire country. There are seldom any campaigns that do not receive support from immensely powerful interest groups, …show more content…

There are several different types of interest groups, including the economic or business interest groups, public interest groups, religious interest groups, governmental interest groups, ideological interest groups, and single-issue interest groups. A public interest groups is the most common type of interest group, which is supposed to be built not to be partisan, or expect any profit from changing public policy, and like the name insinuates, is run by the people, and for the people. Another important type of interest group are governmental interest groups, these are usually local or …show more content…

Often dubbed “special’ interest groups, these groups that represent corporate interests are natural deterrents to productivity, technological advancements, and overall growth of a country. To prove this, one 2011 study explored the relationship between special interest groups and the growth of a nation, and found that “interest group activity reduces capital accumulation as well as innovation, and thus exerts a ‘sclerotic,’ or harmful, effect on growth” in a study that spanned “87 nations”.(Coates) They measured the GDP of these countries, and compared them based on their economic power, location, issues, and the growth trend of each individual country. Their results were significantly conclusive, as they found “a negative and statistically significant relation between [interest] groups and capital stock growth and productivity growth”. Ironically, these corporations praise capitalism and only exist because of it; however, their political activity negatively affects stock market trends, growth, productivity, and a nation’s economy as a

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Pros And Cons Of Super Citizens United Vs Fec

2369 Words | 10 Pages

In the past few years, the United States has seen a huge spike in the money spent in federal elections (See Appendix 4.B). Not only have candidates been making greater efforts to communicate their ideas to the American public, but super PACs have also been displaying their support for candidates and their political policies; they do so by using their right to accept unlimited donations from the public and later, use that money to promote certain candidates, or to sway voters in a desired direction. The immense power that super PACs have to sway voters has come under harsh criticism, spurring the creation of new laws and limits on the super PACs in an attempt to keep them in check and to avoid possible corruption. These limits on super

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AARP: United States Interest Group Analysis

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One example of an interest group is AARP. AARP is a United States interest group with membership. It was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, Ph.D. And Leonard Davis. AARP has vast membership so it is able to generate its own income without being dependent on government grants or private donors. I read on Tuesday night on Facebook how disappointed they were in the Senate 's vote to proceed on the new healthcare bill and how they would inform 38 million members how their Senators voted so they could hold them accountable.

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Similarities Between Super Pacs And 501c4s

1141 Words | 5 Pages

In today’s government, there are two groups that can influence the way people vote for candidates in political races. They are known as a Super Pac and 501c4. Super Pacs are committees that became significant in 2010 after the court decision in the SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission (Super Pacs). A 501c4 is referred as “social welfare” groups. Their primary focus is to promote social welfare causes (Sullivan).

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Interest Groups: National Rifle Association And Brady Campaign

945 Words | 4 Pages

An interest group is a group of people that tries to take action on a political issue or concern. The goal of an interest group is to recruit politicians as endorsements and persuade the government to take action on their respective issue. There are interest groups for mostly every issue or concern for the country. For example, the National Rifle Association and Brady Campaign are both interest groups that are concerned with gun control and gun violence. Both groups have stated their interests in influencing the American government to apply stricter gun laws and reduce the amount of shootings and deaths by firearms by a drastic margin.

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Pros And Cons Of Citizens United Vs Fec

1445 Words | 6 Pages

Do you feel insignificant during elections? Do you worry that there is too much money in politics? Do you believe that campaigns are corrupt? All these common worries become real issues in 2010 with Citizens United v. FEC: a Supreme Court ruling that will forever be significant to elections. The Citizens United ruling "opened the door" for unrestricted campaign spending by corporations, but most importantly the case led to the formation of groups called super PACs: corporations or labor unions that have the ability to use its general treasury and unlimited donations to influence elections.

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837 Words | 4 Pages

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Over the last few decades, the United States Congress has debated numerous campaign finance reforms. Debated proposals have included limiting independent expenditures, raising limits on individual contributions, banning all private campaign contributions, and creating a public financing campaign system. In many of the debates, compelling arguments exist for both the proponents and the opponents. Generally, arguments are predicated upon constitutional concepts, Supreme Court rulings, standard policy, logic and reason, and personal perspectives.

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The Purpose of Interest Groups Interest groups are associations whose purpose is to influence political officials to support

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William Domhoff’s investigation into America’s ruling class is an eye-opening and poignant reading experience, even for individuals enlightened on the intricacies of the US social class system. His book, Who Rules America, explains the fundamental failures in America’s governing bodies to provide adequate resources for class mobility and shared power amongst classes. He identifies history, corporate and social hierarchies, money-driven politics, a two-party system, and a policy-making process orchestrated by American elites as several causes leading to an ultimate effect of class-domination theory pervading American society. In articulating his thesis and supporting assertions, Domhoff appeals rhetorically toward an audience with prior knowledge

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718 Words | 3 Pages

A democracy is a government in the hands of men not corporations. In a 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. F.E.C permitted corporations and unions to make political expenditures from their treasuries directly and through other organizations, as long as the spending is done independently of any candidate. With this court ruling, big business and wealthy individuals have gained an unfair advantage over the political system by utilizing their vast income to influence elections, and other matters of the government. Therefore campaign finance should be reformed because the wealthy individuals and organizations have unlimited control over mainstream media, they are granted access to the government, and foreign countries can secretly influence our government in their favor. Campaign spending is out of control.

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Campaign Finance Reform Research Paper

772 Words | 4 Pages

A controversial issue in politics is campaign finance reform. Today’s political campaigns are largely funded by the wealthy elite in America and the corporations they own and fund. Currently, campaigns and campaign finances are government by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The FEC is “the independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing the federal campaign finance law. The FEC has jurisdiction over the financing of campaigns for the U.S. House, the U.S. Senate, the Presidency and the Vice Presidency” (The FEC).

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Texas Judicial System

1152 Words | 5 Pages

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944 Words | 4 Pages

Interest groups in Texas are relatively powerful actors in the political process. Organized interest groups and their representatives, also known as “the lobby” participates in the policymaking and political processes in Texas. Interest groups provide critical channels for Texans to communicate their political preferences and attempt to influence government actors and their fellow

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1517 Words | 7 Pages

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