Government chapter 9

"Agency capture" occurs when a. a regulatory agency funnels money back into the lobbying organizations that are seeking policy changes. b. regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to regulate rather than with the public. c. the executive branch takes back control of a regulatory agency by passing regulation to prevent undue influence by lobbying organizations. d. a regulatory agency must be dismantled because it has become corrupted. e. an election results in the replacement of an agency's leadership through appointive positions under a new president.

b

James Madison's solution to the problem of factions (special interests) has, in the modern policy process, actually contributed to the problem by a. suppressing the claims of special interests, thereby making it more difficult for them to get their opinions heard by officials. b. resulting in a fragmentation of authority among policymakers, thereby providing groups more opportunities to get their way. c. eroding the strength of political parties, thereby increasing the opportunity for group influence. d. weakening the legislative branch, thereby allowing groups to bully Congress into accepting their demands. e. eroding the power of the mass media, thereby increasing the opportunity for group influence.

b

Which of the following statements would NOT be accepted by supporters of the pluralist view of interest groups? a. People's separate interests are a legitimate basis of public policy. b. The idea of the public interest or the collective interest does not have much meaning in cases where the public is sharply divided in its policy opinions. c. The opinion of the majority should always prevail in a policy dispute over the opinion of a more intense and directly affected minority. d. Most interests benefit from the workings of the group system, which is a reason to support a policy process that is responsive to groups. e. Public policy should represent the diversity that exists in society.

c

A flaw in pluralism theory is the fact that a. the interest group system is unrepresentative because some interests are far better organized and more powerful than others. b. the public interest is never served by policies that promote special interests. c. larger groups always prevail politically over smaller groups. d. political parties better represent different interests than do interest groups. e. All these answers are correct.

a

According to James Madison, the source of most factions is the a. unequal distribution of property. b. American political tradition of association. c. system of separation of powers in the U.S. d. spirit of individualism. e. concept of majority rule.

a

Some groups pursue collective goods. A collective good is one that a. cannot be selectively granted or denied to individuals; it must be shared. b. is provided by a public service organization. c. is secured by the president. d. is secured by Congress. e. None of these answers is correct.

a

The support of ________ was critical to passage of a controversial prescription drug program for the elderly in 2003. a. the AARP b. Greenpeace c. the ACLU d. the NAACP e. the ABA

a

A pluralist could be expected to argue that a. the presidency is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress. b. society is best seen as a collection of separate interests. c. U.S. society is best run by a power elite. d. most interests are poorly represented through the group process. e. the judiciary is more representative of society's interests than is the Congress.

b

Effective inside lobbying is based upon a. countering the aims of other groups. b. providing useful and persuasive information to key officials. c. mobilizing the group's members. d. bribing or threatening officials. e. using the media to exert pressure.

b

Most lobbyists receive support from elected officials in direct exchange for a. money. b. information. c. bribery. d. coercion. e. deception.

b

The most fully organized interests are those that have which of the following as their primary purpose? a. agriculture b. economic activity c. civil liberties d. labor reform e. reform of government

b

Which of the following is NOT a typical interest group function? a. supporting candidates for public office b. addressing a broad and diverse range of public issues c. working to influence policymakers d. promoting public policies e. working to influence legislators

b

The term iron triangle refers to a. a tightly-knit set of lobbying groups. b. the relationship between the Congress, the military, and defense contractors. c. a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists who are concerned with promoting a particular interest. d. the strategy of lobbying all three branches of government simultaneously. e. a corrupt relationship among the president, Congress, and the Supreme Court.

c

Economic groups have an advantage over non-economic groups because a. they nearly always have larger memberships. b. they are organized primarily for political purposes. c. they have better leadership. d. they have greater access to financial resources. e. their members are committed to their causes.

d

A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is a. the American tradition of free association. b. the extent of diverse interests in American society. c. America's federal system of government. d. the separation of powers in American government. e. All these answers are correct.

e

About ________ percent of people who regularly listen to National Public Radio do not donate money to their local station. a. 10 b. 30 c. 50 d. 70 e. 90

e

In the dynamics of an iron triangle, what benefit do interest groups provide to friendly bureaucratic agencies? a. services for constituents b. travel funds c. campaign contributions d. administration of mutually beneficial policies e. lobbying support for agency programs

e

The air we breathe is an example of a a. private good. b. negative externality. c. material good. d. mass-produced good. e. collective good.

e

Political scientist Theodore Lowi has questioned pluralist theory by suggesting that a. special interests should never receive benefits from government. b. there is no concept of the public interest in a system that gives special interests the ability to determine the policies affecting them. c. policies that favor a series of minorities are inherently fairer than policies that ignore small groups in favor of a majority. d. the sum of people's special interests is a rough approximation of society's collective interest. e. Madisonian theory has created a perfect balance of special interest and common good.

b

According to E. E. Schattschneider, the interest-group system has a a. strong upper-class bias. b. strong working-class bias. c. strong bias in favor of liberal Democrats. d. strong bias in favor of moderate Republicans. e. strong bias in favor of racial minorities.

a

An amicus brief a. is a written document in which a group explains to a court its position on a legal dispute the court is handling b. is a written document in which an interest group lays out its policy preference for targeted lawmakers. c. prevents a lobbyist group from making campaign donations to policy makers over a specific issue. d. provides evidence for prosecutors of an illegal monetary relationship between a lawmaker and an interest group or PAC. e. prevents PACs from donating more than $5,000 to a single candidate during a primary election.

a

Another name for an interest group is a. pressure group. b. cabal. c. political party. d. coalition. e. constituency.

a

Economist Mancur Olson concluded that groups a. exercise too much power in the American system. b. increase the flexibility of government. c. can have their benefits reduced by concerted political opposition. d. are shown to have too much power when examined individually. e. help the government break away from long-term or previous commitments and apply funding to new problems or issues.

a

In recent decades, lobbyists in Washington, D.C. have increasingly a. targeted the executive branch in their efforts to influence policy decisions. b. relied on coercive tactics, such as threats of withdrawing election support. c. worked to defeat incumbent members of Congress in order to replace them with members who would be more supportive. d. relied exclusively on inside lobbying as the means of gaining their policy goals. e. ignored the judicial branch as a means of influencing policy decisions.

a

Outside lobbying does NOT include a. developing and maintaining close contacts with policymakers. b. the use of campaign contributions to legislators who favor the interest group. c. cultivating favorable coverage from the news media. d. targeting group resources on key election races. e. rousing citizens to contact their elected officials and express their support.

a

PACs tend to contribute the most money to a. incumbents. b. challengers. c. Independents. d. liberal Democrats. e. liberal Republicans.

a

The Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) a. allows corporations and labor unions to spend unlimited funds on campaigns. b. limits PACs by reducing the amount of money they can raise through contributions by small donors. c. has forced candidates for office and elected officials to make public the amounts of campaign contributions they have received from PACs and which PACs make those donations. d. has strengthened the argument that PACs constitute a better system of campaign finance than one based on wealthy donors. e. has forced corporations and labor unions to legally divorce themselves from the PACs they sponsor.

a

The citizens of ________ are most actively involved in interest groups and community causes. a. the United States b. Germany c. Italy d. France e. Great Britain

a

The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a cause because they will get the benefits even if they do not participate is called a. the size factor. b. the free-rider problem. c. the special-interest paradox. d. the disincentive factor. e. the zero-sum game.

a

Why did Representative Tom DeLay lose his post as House majority leader? a. He was implicated in a scandal involving campaign donations from lobbyist Jack Abramoff. b. He was forced out through the leveraging of money by a host of PACs, who opposed his attempts to limit their influence. c. He was voted out of office when Democrats were able to paint him as an unscrupulous supporter of big business. d. The major labor unions turned against him and encouraged their supporters to vote him out of office when he opposed their lobbying efforts. e. He angered the members of the AARP by suggesting that government retirement benefits should be cut.

a

________ wrote that "Liberty is to faction what air is to fire." a. James Madison b. Alexis de Tocqueville c. Thomas Jefferson d. Theodore Lowi e. Theodore Roosevelt

a

A purposive incentive is defined as a. a goal of direct economic gain. b. the opportunity to contribute to a worthy goal or purpose. c. a goal benefiting a specific group. d. any common purpose that brings groups together. e. corporate profit.

b

An informal grouping of officials, lobbyists, and policy specialists who come together temporarily around a policy problem is a. an iron triangle. b. an issue network. c. a caucus. d. a policy system. e. an ideological network.

b

Citizens' interest groups are distinguished from economic interest groups by the fact that a. their leaders are elected by secret ballot of the group's members. b. their members receive no direct economic benefit from attainment of the group's goals. c. they do not lobby government officials directly, but rely instead on public service announcements to get their views across to society. d. they always pursue goals in which there is a high level of agreement among society members. e. All these answers are correct.

b

Under federal law, PACs can contribute no more than ________ per candidate in a primary election. a. $1,000 b. $5,000 c. $25,000 d. $50,000 e. $100,000

b

A main difference between iron triangles and issue networks is that a. an iron triangle includes members of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, while issue networks bypass the judicial branch. b. issue networks involve a stable group of bureaucrats, legislators, and lobbyists, while iron triangles exclude lobbyists in an attempt to reach impartial decisions. c. issue networks are generally less stable than iron triangles, in that the members of an issue network may change as the issue develops. d. issue networks, being less formal, rely on outside lobbying only, while iron triangles use inside lobbying only. e. All these answers are correct.

c

During his visit to this country in the 1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville described the United States as "a nation of ________." a. freeloaders b. loners c. joiners d. fighters e. stalwarts

c

Economist Mancur Olson refers to what aspect of interest groups as "the size factor"? a. Larger interest cgroups are able to draw on greater financial resources, which makes them more capable of getting the ear of lawmakers and thus achieving policy change. b. The interests of groups with large memberships would typically prevail over the interests of smaller groups. c. Small groups are ordinarily more united on policy issues and often have more resources, enabling them to win out more often than large groups. d. The smaller an interest group, the more likely that its motivating issue will be subsumed by the agenda of a larger interest group. e. Small interest groups can often enhance their bargaining power by linking themselves to the agenda of a larger interest group that has greater resources.

c

In acknowledging the dilemma inherent in group activity, James Madison a. argued that the free-rider problem would hurt some groups more than others. b. claimed that government could listen to all groups, but should only enact policies that promote the interests of majority groups. c. worried that government would be overly dominated by groups, but recognized that a free society is obliged to permit the advocacy of self-interest. d. argued that government must restrict the activities of groups, so that political parties could act as the major instrument of democracy. e. All these answers are correct.

c

James Madison argued a. against all interest groups. b. for the advocacy of self-interest free from all systems of restraint. c. for regulation of interests through a governing system of checks and balances. d. for the replacement of interest groups by formal political parties. e. for a powerful judiciary.

c

Roughly how many American workers currently belong to unions? a. one in two b. one in four c. one in eight d. one in six e. one in ten

c

The dominant labor interest group is a. the Teamster's Union. b. United Auto Workers. c. the AFL-CIO. d. the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. e. None of these answers is correct.

c

The largest number of PACs are those associated with a. single-issue groups, such as environmental groups and right-to-life groups. b. labor. c. business. d. agriculture. e. education.

c

There are more than ________ political action committees (PACs) in the United States. a. 40 b. 400 c. 4,000 d. 400,000 e. 4,000,000

c

Which citizens' group did a Fortune magazine survey rank as the nation's most powerful lobbying group? a. the NAACP b. the AFL-CIO c. the AARP d. MADD e. Common Cause

c

Which of the following is true of employment in lobbying firms by members of Congress? a. It is very rare for a member of Congress to become a lobbyist because of the negative stigma involved. b. Most members of Congress join lobbying firms immediately after leaving Congress. c. They are prohibited by law from lobbying Congress for a set period of time after leaving office. d. Members of Congress are prohibited by law from joining the lobbying profession. e. Many members of Congress were lobbyists prior to becoming elected representatives.

c

In order to overcome the free-rider problem, non-economic groups have a. deliberately restricted the size of their membership. b. joined up with economic groups. c. convinced government to limit the distribution of public goods to those who have contributed to the group's efforts. d. used Internet resources and computer-assisted mailing lists to target potential donors. e. adopted taxes for nonmembers.

d

Members of the ________ generate more mail to Congress than any other group. a. NRA b. ACLU c. NAACP d. AARP e. NEA

d

The theory that society's interests are most effectively represented through group action is a. republicanism. b. constitutionalism. c. elitist theory. d. pluralist theory. e. interest-group liberalism.

d

An interest group that focuses on policy benefits for senior citizens would be an example of a. a philosophical interest group. b. an ideological group. c. a professional group. d. a business group. e. a single-issue group.

e

Grassroots lobbying is based on the assumption that officials will respond to a. well-reasoned policy arguments. b. the opportunity for extensive media publicity. c. moral pleas. d. the efforts of party organizations. e. pressure from constituents.

e

The influence of interest groups through the courts occurs through a. initiating lawsuits. b. lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench. c. outside lobbying only. d. PACs. e. both initiating lawsuits and lobbying for certain judges to be appointed to the bench.

e

The limits of interest groups' influence might be gauged by the Democratic backlash against the ________, which tried to block NAFTA in 1993. a. ACLU b. Sierra Club c. Izaak Walton League d. AARP e. AFL-CIO

e

Theodore Lowi's theory of interest-group liberalism a. constitutes a partial and wrongful abdication by government of its authority over policy. b. argues that lawmakers are rightly prevented from using government to promote group interests. c. posits that interest groups result in an efficient use of society's resources. d. describes the effect of groups on policy, resulting in a system of rule by majorities. e. 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.

e

Which of the following is roughly the amount that was spent on lobbying in the United States in 2009? a. $250 billion b. $10 billion c. $350 million d. $35 billion e. $3.5 billion

e

Which of the following organizations is NOT an example of a single-issue group? a. Sierra Club b. National Rifle Association c. Izaak Walton League d. right-to-life groups e. MoveOn.org

e

Why have issue networks become more prevalent than iron triangles? a. the increasing power of corporate lobbying b. the increasing diversity of interest groups c. the increasing influence of PACs d. the instability of candidates' positions e. the increasing complexity of policy problems

e