Title: Interest Groups
1Interest Groups
- Types
- How Interest Groups Work
2Types of Interest Groups
- Interest groups may be divided broadly into three
general types - (1) economic interests
- (2) consumer
- (3) public interests
- (4) equality justice
3Economic Interests
- Concerned primarily with profits, prices, and
wages - Government can significantly effect them through
regulations, subsidies, contracts, trade policy
and tax advantages
4Economic Interests
- (1) Labor Unions
- (2) Agriculture groups
- (3) Business groups
- (4) Professional groups
5Economic Interests Labor Unions
- Focus on better working conditions higher wages
- To ensure their solidarity, unions have
established the union shop( requires new
employees to join the union representing them)
6Economic Interests Labor Unions
- Employers, on the other hand, have supported
right-to-work laws - Argue that union membership should be optional
7Labor Unions
- Some, but by no means all, states have adopted
right-to-work laws, but many union members work
today in a union shop
8Labor Unions
- In 1970 about 25 of the work force belonged to a
union shop, but membership has been declining
over the past 30 years
9Labor Unions
- By 2000, unions were losing support among the
general population, and many strikes were proving
to be unsuccessful
10Labor Unions
- However, national labor unions remain today as
powerful lobby groups in Washington
11Economic Interests Agriculture Groups
- Once more powerful than they are today
- Now employs only a small fraction of the American
public
12Economic Interests Agriculture Groups
- For many years, government policies that deal
with acreage controls, price supports, and import
quotas have been important to farmers
13Economic Interests Agriculture Groups
- There are several broad-based agricultural
groups - National Farmers Organization
- American Farm Bureau Federation
14Agriculture Groups
- Equally as important are the specialized
agriculture groups - Different crops have different groups
- National Potato Council
- National Peanut Farmer
15Economic Interests Business Groups
- Large corporations, such as General Motors and
GE, exercise considerable political influence, as
do hundreds of smaller corporations
16Economic Interests Business Groups
- Since the late 1800s government has regulated
business practices - Those regulations continue to be a major concern
of business interest groups
17Economic Interests Business Groups
- A less visible type represents trade associations
- Diverse as the products services they provide
18Economic Interests Business Groups
- Examples include
- Life insurance groups
- Tire manufacturers
- Restaurants
- Real estate dealers
19Economic Interests Business Groups
- The broadest trade association is the Chamber of
Commerce - Federation of several thousand local chambers of
commerce representing tens of thousands of
business firms
20Economic Interests Professional Groups
- Some of the most powerful interest groups
- Represent various occupations
- Some are well-known ones are the AMA, American
Bar Association, NEA
21Economic Interests Professional Groups
- These groups are interested in the many
government policies that affect their professions - For examplelawyers are licensed by states, which
set up certain standards of admission into the bar
22Economic Interests Professional Groups
- ABA is interested in influencing those standards
- AMA has been very involved in government
proposals for nationally sponsored healthcare
reforms, especially as they affect doctors
23Consumer Public Interest Groups
- Today over 2,000 groups champion causes in the
public interest
24Consumer Public Interest Groups
- Differ from many other interest groups in that
they - Seek a collective good
- Benefits for everyone--not just the members of
the interest groups themselves
25Public Interest Groups
- Began during the 1960s under the leadership of
consumer advocated Ralph Nader
26Public Interest Groups
- Nader first gained national attention with his
book, Unsafe at Any Speed - Attacked General Motors Corvair as a dangerous
mechanically deficient automobile
27Public Interest Groups
- Public Interest Groups (PIRGs) actively promote
- Environmental issues
- Safe energy
- Consumer protection
- Good government
28Public Interest Groups
- PIRGs have national membership of more than
400,000, making them one of the largest
individual membership organizations in the country
29Public Interest Groups
- Another well known public interest group is
Common Cause - Founded in 1970 to promote electoral reform and a
political process more open to the public
30Environmental Interests
- A special type of public interest group focuses
on environmental interests
31Environmental Interests
- A few, like the Sierra Club and Audubon Society,
were founded in the late 19th century - Most were created after 1970
32Environmental Interests
- Environmental groups promote
- Pollution control
- Wilderness protection
- Population control
33Environmental Interests
- They have opposed
- Strip-mining
- Oil pipelines
- Offshore oil drilling
- Nuclear power plants
34Environmental Interests
- Their concerns often directly conflict with those
of corporations whose activities they wish to
control
35Environmental Interests
- Energy producers argue that environmentalists
oppose energy projects necessary to keep modern
society operating
36Equality Justice Interests
- Interest groups have championed equal rights
justice, particularly for women minorities
37Equality Justice Interests
- Oldest largest is the NAACP
- NAACPlobbied pressed court cases to defend
equal rights in voting, employment, and housing
38Equality Justice Interests
- Most prominent womens rights organization is the
NOW - Pushed for ratification of the Equal Rights
Amendment (ERA) in the 1970s
39Equality Justice Interests
- Although the amendment did not pass, NOW still
lobbies for an end to sexual discrimination - Other organizations that support equal rights are
the National Urban League, Womens Political
Caucus