Iron triangles

Question 1

What is an iron triangle?

Answer 1

A three way alliance among legislators, bureaucrats and interest groups to make or perserve policies that benefit their respective interest

Question 2

What’s an interest group examples?

Answer 2

-Lockheed martin’s
-Business round table of realtors
-US Chamber of commerces
-Amazon
-Facebook
-Phrma

Question 3

What is congress, example?

Answer 3

The committees in policy areas
-Armed services committee
-Appropriations (HOR and senate) funds to a group
-Ways and means committee HOR

Question 4

What is a bureaucracy?

Answer 4

Agency’s with budgets
-Alphabetic agencys
-Part of the executive but independent from the president

Question 5

How do iron triangles work?

Answer 5

-Gain electoral support by interest groups who want friendly legislation and oversight from committees
-Committees will them fund and gain political support to agency’s who make the policy choices and execute them
-The agency’s gain congressional support bia lobbying so then low regulate and give special favors to an interest group

Question 6

2 examples of an iron triangle?

Answer 6

-National association of realtors
-The defense industry in the USA

Question 7

Example of iron triangle- The office of housing and national association of realtors?

Answer 7

1) The NAoR lobby the ways and means committee to gain legislation benefits (In 2022 NAoR spent $84 billion in lobbying, $14 million dollars of this went to Mitt Romney a Utah senator
2)The WaM committee got lobbied by NAoR, so passed a federal tax bill reducing tax that realtors pay by 20%
3)The WaM get the office of housing involved who oversees and regulates the housing market and the budget for the OoH is provided by the ways and means committee e.g in 2023 this was $259 billion
4) The OoH then increased the profit for realtors across the UK as they get a bigger budget de regulating the industry

Question 8

Example of iron triangle?- Lockheed martin?

Answer 8

1)LHM is a co-operation that manufactures military hardware that spent $17 mill lobbying to congress to increase the spending by $17 million to increase support
2) LHM donates money to The HoR and Senate appropriations committee (The highest reciprocate is Kay Granger the chair of committee) in order for laws to be passed (in 2021 they passed 4 appropriation e.g. spending bills on increased spending for defence departments
3)These appropriation bills are passed and it grants money to the bureaucracy the US defence department and awards contract to supply armed forces with hardware
4) This means in 2017, $50.7 bill in contrast to lockheed martin

Question 9

How do they work in congress and how are they benefiting from iron triangles?

Answer 9

They get funding from an interest group via lobbying
They then pass laws benefiting interest groups
And then authorise budgets for govt departments and agencys

Question 10

How do they work in interest groups and how are they benefiting from iron triangles?

Answer 10

-They give valuble info to govt departments so give money to congress and individuals
-Therefore benefit from legislation and low regulation from government

Question 11

How do they work in bureaucracy and how are they benefiting from iron triangles?

Answer 11

-They gain valuable info from interest groups
-Who then gain budget annually from relevant congressional committee

Question 12

Why could they be referred to as a sub government?

Answer 12

All the real decisions are made among the 3 groups

Question 13

Why are they iron?

Answer 13

-They are strong and can’t be broken even after interference by the president
-They maintain unpopular interests, like gun control

Question 14

What are the 3 controversies of iron triangles?

Answer 14

-The government is to big
-Agency capture and clientelism
-Anti democratic

Question 15

Controversy- govt has gotten to big?

Answer 15

-Since the modern presidency of FDR govt agency’s have increased
-Fed budget in 1900 $8.3 bill and in 1992 $1,450.0 bill
-Agency’s have vested interest in continuing to be funded e.g. The US govt is the biggest employer in the USA

Question 16

Controversy’s- what is Agency capture?

Answer 16

Government departments being dominated by interest groups

Question 17

Controversy’s- what is Clientelism?

Answer 17

Govt depts and congressional committees to exist to serve their clients who are the wealthy and powerful interest groups (shows elitism) like Lockheed martin

Question 18

Controversy’s- Anti democratic?

Answer 18

-Demands of interest groups served more than the demands of the people
-US public fighting against gun laws but congress won’t act due to NRA funding
-Corruption, in 2011 the FBI Director Robert Mueller said iron triangles were organised criminals and are a national security threat

Question 19

Examples of positive iron triangles?

Answer 19

-Sierra club
-Mothers against drunk drivers

Question 20

Positive iron triangles- Sierra club?

Answer 20

Lobbied congress to pass environmental legislation ‘Beyond coal’ campaign to be called the most successful environmental campaign in history

Question 21

Positive impact of iron triangles- Mothers against drunk drivers?

Answer 21

Lobbied US highway agency to pass the national minimum drinking age act, introducing a federal penalty to any state that didn’t raise minimum legal drinking age from 18 to 21, this penalty being a 10% reduction on highway funding

Question 22

Is there a weakening interest of iron triangles?

Answer 22

Yes it can be said due to Tobacco lobby
In 1950s they were the most successful lobby group in the US and managed to suppress scientific proof of the link between smoking tobacco and lung cancer, did this by marketing tobacco health benefits
-But people found out about negative impacts leading Bill Clinton in 1997 to authorise the banning of smoking in federal buildings and in public places in most states in the USA even though the tobacco industry lobbied against this

Question 23

Do the Uk have iron triangles?

Answer 23

Not as strong but we do have influential sectional groups

Question 24

Uk Iron triangle examples?

Answer 24

CBI and the ERT
insider groups- BMA, NFU and Think tanks like the adam smith institute
-Labor and TUC
-50% of conservative funding comes from the top companies’ in the city of london

Question 25

Features of iron triangles?

Answer 25

-They can change and shift govt policy and decisions
-They can thwart threats to the status quo
-Revolving door syndrome with former political figures having accesses and expertise

Question 26

Features- They can change and shift govt policy and decisions examples?

Answer 26

AIPAC (American for Isreal Public action committe)
This protects isreal from hostile neigbours with miltary aid
They lobby the foregin relations committe
Committe impacts defence department for greater sales to foregin nations meaning profits

Question 27

Features- They can thwart threats to the status quo
examples?

Answer 27

Agricultural lobby to protect farmers from cheap imparts
Lobby the Agricultural standing committee who make us crops competitive
Impacting the department of agri so the value of us crops are competitive
This means the interest group can stop laws being passed meaning crop value is maintained by subsidise even though 2% of americans live on farms

Question 28

Features- Revolving door syndrome with former political figures having accesses and expertise examples?

Answer 28

Bill Clinton’s former treasury chief Robert Rubin was hired by Enron to lobby the Bush administration
This meant Bush didn’t sign the Kyoto treaty and led to alaska drilling to be blocked