POLS 1101 1st edition Lecture 26Outline of Previous LectureI. Bureaucracy in ActionII. Bureaucrats as PoliticiansIII. Controlling the BureaucracyIV. Barriers to ControlOutline of Current Lecture I. Lobbyists and 2010 Financial ReformII. James Madison’s DilemmaIII. The Logic of LobbyingIV. Pluralists Defense of Interest GroupsV. Why is the system biasedVI. Problems of Collective ActionCurrent Lecture I. Lobbyists and 2010 Financial Reform As congress considered financial reform to tighten restrictions on Wall Street,lobbyists representing these interests swarmed Capitol Hill Second worst recession in 2010 on record since the Great Depression Blanche Lincoln, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, proposed a crackdown on trading derivatives blamed for the crasho 1500 lobbyists visited her office prior to hearingso $600 million was spent by the financial sector to weaken the bill and they were successful The bill passed, with some changeso The bill barely did anything Car dealerships were able to obtain an exemption by relying on grassroots movements rather than Washington DC lobbyists Case illustrates the role of interest groups in national politicsII. James Madison’s Dilemma When Madison wrote the Federalists papers he was worried about there being lobbyists groups that would go after self-interest even if it hurt other people. Madison claimed that since there would be so many pursuing interests that the bad ones would be canceled out. III. The Logic of LobbyingThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute. Logic of lobbying is transparent they go after certain specific interests Lobbying solves collective action problems for people or groups wanting to influence public policy Our government sees the positives of lobbyingo Help them gain support on legislationo Provides information: both political and technical When congress passes laws they need information and interest groups have that information, the information is usually spun to that lobbyist view- Congress still benefits from that information because it is better than no information at all Modern politics breeds professional lobbyistso The constitution does not require lobbying but it does allow itIV. Pluralists Defense of Interest Groups Moreover, the American political system was particularly conducive to pluralist politicso Decentralizedo Elected officials need to form broad-based coalitions Idealized conception of system Reality: system is biased (imperfect solution to Madison’s dilemma)o Money, information, access to authority, skill, bargaining power are distributed unevenlyo The logic of collective action shows why some groups tend to win out over otherso Money is not distributed equallyo But it is better than nothing, at least some peoples voices are heardV. Why is the system biased Groups that are better organized and more resources are more likely to win Usually those groups are the ones that are from the private sectoro Representing corporations Those who tend who represent broader public interest tend to lose moreo Unless the public cares a lot and they get free press among other thingsVI. Problems of Collective action Incentives for collective action and the barriers to organization vary across different types of groups Must eliminate free riding Private sector groups are more able to eliminate free riding Any group doing anything must ensure that everyone contributes to the collective goodo You always have the temptation to not do your part and you still benefit from it Groups that fail to keep everything organized and are the larger groups tend to loose Groups with greater interest at stake face fewer barrierso These are the groups from the private sectoro Their livelihood depends on them winning Those who want to protect the environment don’t work as hard because their livelihood doesn’t depend on
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