chapter 9
In an effort to overcome the free-rider problem, non economic groups have
used internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors
About ____ percent of people who regularly listen to National Public Radio do not donate money to their local station.
90
Roughly how many American workers currently belong to unions?
one in eight
The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is
pluralist theory
The supreme court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)
allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns
An informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is
an issue network
Economist Mancur Olson refers to what aspect if interest groups as "the size factor"?
small groups are ordinarily more united on policy issues and often have more resources, enabling them to win out more often than large groups
A pluralist could be expected to argue that
society is best seen as a collective of separate interests
According to E. E. Schattschneider, the interest-group system has a
strong upper class bias
The supreme court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) ultimately led to the creation of
super PACs
In recent decades, lobbyists in Washington, D.C. have increasingly
targeted the executive branch in their efforts to influence policy decisions
The support of _________ was critical to passage of a controversial prescription drug program for the elderly in 2003.
the AARP
Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group?
the AARP
The dominant labor interest group is
the AFL-CIO
Economic groups have an advantage over non economic groups because
they have greater access to financial resources
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, what was roughly the amount spent on lobbying in the United States in 2009?
$3.5 billion
Under federal law, PACs can contribute no more than ______________ per candidate in a primary election.
$5,000
Members of the ______________ generate more mail to Congress than any other group.
AARP
Which of the following groups primarily uses litigation as its lobbying method?
ACLU
The limits of interest groups' influence might be gauged by the Democratic backlash against the ______________, which tried to block the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993.
AFL-CIO
__________________ wrote that "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire."
James Madison
Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single issue group?
MoveOn.org
An interest group that focuses on policy benefits for senior citizens would be an example of
a single-issue group
The term iron triangles refers to
a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest
Which of the following is NOT a typical interest group function?
addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues
The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs though
both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench
The largest number of PACs are those associated with
business
Some groups pursue collective goods. A collective good is one that
cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it must be shared.
The air we breathe is an example of a
collective good
Early in the 2012 Republican presidential nominating race, some Super PAC televised ads were so untruthful that they were
criticized even by the candidates they were intended to help
Theodore Lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism
deals with the tendency of officials to support the policy demands of the interest group or groups that have a special stake in a policy
Outside lobbying does NOT include
developing and maintaining close contacts with policymakers
The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose?
economic activity
Economist Mancur Olson concluded that groups
exercise too much power in the American system
James Madison argued
for regulation of interests through a governing system of checks and balances
The situation in which individual are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called the
free-rider problem
PACs tend to contribute the most money to
incumbents
Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for
information
An amicus brief
is a written document in which a group explains to a court its position on a legal dispute the court is handling
A main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that
issue networks are generally less stable then iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops
During his visit to this country in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville described the United States as "a nation of ______________".
joiners
In dynamics of an iron triangle, what benefit do interest groups provide to friendly bureaucratic agencies?
lobbying support for agency programs
Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to
pressure from constituents
Another name for an interest group is
pressure group
Effective inside lobbying is based upon
providing useful and persuasive information to key officials
"Agency capture" occurs when
regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to regulate rather than with the public
James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has, in the modern policy process actually contributed to the problem by
resulting in a fragmentation of authority among policymakers, thereby providing groups more opportunities to get their way
A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is
the American tradition of free association, the extent of diverse interests in American society, Americas federal system of government, the separation of powers in America government. (all of these answers are correct.)
The citizens of ___________ are most actively involved in interest groups and community causes
the United States
Why have issue networks become more prevalent?
the increasing complexity of policy positions problems
A flaw in pluarlism theory is the fact that
the interest group system is unrepresentative because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others
Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups?
the opinion of the majority should always prevail in a policy dispute over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority
A purposive incentive is defined as
the opportunity to contribute to a worthy goal or purpose
Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that
their members receive no direct economic benefit from attainment of the groups goals
Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that
there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them
Which of the following is true of employment in lobbying firms by members of Congress?
they are prohibited by law from lobbying Congress for a set period of time after leaving office
In acknowledging the dilemma inherent in group activity, James Madison
worried that government would be overly dominated by groups, but recognized that a free society is obliged to permit the advocacy of self interest