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AP GOV > Lesson 13 > Flashcards

Lesson 13 Flashcards

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1
Q

Turnout in elections has declined since_____

What has risen?

A

1970s

Participation in interest groups

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2
Q

What is interest group participation based on?

A

1st amendment protections of the freedom to assemble

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3
Q

What is an interest group? What do they try to do?

A
  • organization of people who share important policy goal(s)

- influence the policymaking process to see this goal furthered

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4
Q

2 examples of what interest groups do

A

National Rifle Association(NRA)

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)

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5
Q

Unlike political parties, interests groups do NOT________

They….

A

Nominate candidates foe elected office…. they endorse candidates

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6
Q

3 Theories of Democratic Policymaking

A

1) pluralist
2) elite
3) hyper-pluralist

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7
Q

All groups have a fair chance of influencing policy

A

Pluralist

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8
Q

There may be many groups, but the system is dominated by the most powerful ones (usually associated with big business)

A

Elite

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9
Q

System experiences gridlock because too many politicians are trying to please too many groups

A

Hyper pluralist

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10
Q

Theodore Lowi

A
  • political scientist

- developed the concept of interest group liberalism to explain how hyper-pluralism works

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11
Q

In an effort to appease every interest….. (4)

A

1) government agencies proliferate
2) conflicting regulations expand
3) programs multiply
4) budget bloats

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12
Q

Iron Triangles

A
  • subgovernments

- locks more programs and higher budgets into place

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13
Q

How do iron triangles work?

A

They bind 3 entities into cooperation:

1) an interest group
2) a government agency
3) a congressional committee

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14
Q

What do interest groups want? How do they achieve this?

A
  • favorable policy from government agencies
  • they lobby the congressional committee that oversees the government agency that would implement the interest group’s desired policy
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15
Q

As the 3 entities of iron triangles work together in the policymaking process….

A

They often find that they have a shared interest in enlarging the scope of government

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16
Q

3 Characteristics of the most successful interest groups

A

1) manageable size
2) high intensity
3) money

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17
Q

Manageable Size (characteristic of interest group)

A
  • really large groups often suffer from a free rider problem
  • this occurs when people who put little to no effort or resources into the group’s desires policy outcome benefit from it anyway
  • a smaller interest group sees a smaller differential between the potential group and the actual group
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18
Q

All those affected by the groups desired policy

A

Potential group

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19
Q

Those who formally belong to the interest group and support it with effort and resources

A

Actual group

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20
Q

High Intensity

A
  • Single issue groups with passionate members

- create lots of noise and stand a better chance of influencing policy than a more passive group

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21
Q

Money

A
  • Interest groups that can spend heavily on donations to PACs and SUPERPACs
  • can exert strong influence on policymakers
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22
Q

Most interest groups are organized around________

A

Economic concerns

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23
Q

Interest groups employ the following strategies to influence the policymaking process in their favor: (3)

A

1) lobbying
2) electioneering
3) litigation

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24
Q

What is a lobbyist?

A

A paid representative of an interest group who meets wit legislators in an effort to win legislation favorable to the interest group

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25
Q

2 kinds of lobbyists

A

1) those who work directly for an interest group on a full time, year round basis
2) those who work for an interest group on a for-hire basis(freelance lobbyists)

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26
Q

Why would a legislator ever listen to a lobbyist about anything?

A

Because lobbyists can actually help legislators in two main ways

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27
Q

2 main ways lobbyists can help legislators

A

1) they are specialists who can educate legislators(who are generalists) on issues
2) they can promise their groups political support (maybe an endorsement) to a legislator in exchange for his/her support of the group’s policy goals

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28
Q

Electioneering

A

This strategy involves financially supporting candidates who are favorable to the interest groups policy goals

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29
Q

How does electioneering occur?

A

Mainly through PACs and SUPERPACs

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30
Q

Electioneering

Interest groups tend to give more money to….___________than to__________

A

Incumbents

Challengers

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31
Q

Litigation

A
  • an interest group will often resort to this strategy if its lobbying and electioneering efforts fail
  • this strategy involves going to court
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32
Q

What groups have used litigation most successfully?

A
  • environmental
  • civil rights
  • consumer protection
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33
Q

4 main types of interest groups

A

1) economic groups
2) environmental groups
3) equality groups
4) public interest groups

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34
Q

Economic groups

A

try to get favorable tax, trade, and other policies that affect the
paychecks of their members.

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35
Q

3 Examples of how economic groups work

A

-labor and business groups often square
off over government policy on wages, work hours, etc.
-Labor groups promote unions.
-Business promote “right-to-work” laws that stymie unions

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36
Q

union membership has fallen from…..

A

33% in the 1950s to 11% today.

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37
Q

About 75% of the interest groups in Washington are…..

Give 2 examples

A
  • representing the interests of a business or group of businesses
  • Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers
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38
Q

Environmental Groups

A

work for policies that will protect environmental resources

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39
Q

Origin of many environmental groups

A

trace their origins to the first Earth Day in 1970

40
Q

Sierra Club and the Audubon Society

A

2 environmental groups that have been around for over 100 years

41
Q

Equality Groups

A

work for policies favorable to the social and economic well-being of minority groups and groups historically the object of discrimination

42
Q

2 examples of equality groups

A
  • National Association for the Advancement of Color d People(NAACP)
  • National Organization for Women (NOW).
43
Q

Public interest group

A

work for policies that intend to benefit the collective good

44
Q

Examples of policies of a public interest group

A
  • Public Interest Research Group
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
  • any group representing the interests of children, animals, or other causes generally regarded as noble and worthy
45
Q

Public Interest Research Group

A

founded by Ralph Nader, whose advocacy led to safety standards in the automobile industry

46
Q

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

A

provides legal services to protect basic

constitutional rights from infringement

47
Q

Interest groups are____________by definition

A

Factions

48
Q

The federal government bureaucracy consists of……

it is sometimes referred to as…..

A
  • all those executive branch agencies that assist with the application and enforcement of the laws passed by Congress
  • “administrative state”
49
Q

The bureaucracies consist of the following elements:(5)

A
  • hierarchical power structure
  • task specialization
  • rule making authority
  • promotion of employees by merit
  • impersonality
50
Q

The words “bureaucrat” and “bureaucracy” carry….

A

Negative connotations

51
Q

Why do the words bureaucrat and bureaucracy carry negative connotations?

A

they are associated with slowness (red tape), silly rules and regulations, and government bloat

52
Q

Only about_______of federal bureaucrats work in Washington D.C.

A

12%

53
Q

Where are most federal bureaucracies headquartered?

A

The capitol

54
Q

Bureaucrats constitute the _______

A

Civil service

55
Q

Part of government staffed by workers hired to work within the agencies

A

Civil service

56
Q

Who are the civil service? (3)

A

-accountants with the IRS
scientists with the Department of Energy,
-mailroom workers, secretaries, custodians

57
Q

Like most workers in most jobs in America, workers of the civil service….

A

stay in their positions unless they leave

voluntarily, are laid off, or fired.

58
Q

Jobs of civil service workers are NOT

A

tied to the presidential administration

59
Q

There are probably some bureaucrats who have been in the their jobs since….

A

1960s

60
Q

What places employ 75% of all bureaucrats?

A
  • Department of Defense
  • Postal Service
  • Department of Veterans Affairs
61
Q

How many bureaucrats does the federal government employ?

A

3 million

62
Q

The Pendleton Civil Service Act (1883)

A

created the professional civil service

63
Q

The Hatch Act (1939)

A

prohibits civil servants from actively engaging in partisan political activity while on the job.

64
Q

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

A

in charge of hiring most civil servants

65
Q

The Rule of Three

A

For every open position, the OPM will send three names to the relevant agency, which makes
the ultimate hiring decision

66
Q

What happens when a civil servant is highered?

A

receive a GS Rating from 1 to 18–The higher the number, the higher the salary

67
Q

It is very difficult to fire a civil servant. True or false

A

True

68
Q

Who is at the top of the civil servant hierarchy? How many are there? What is their salary like?

A
  • Senior Executive Service
  • 9,000
  • highest salaries among civil servants.
69
Q

Who has direct authority over the bureaucrats?

A

president’s political appointees(cabinet members, etc)

70
Q

Plum Book

A
  • appointees positions are listed here

- published by Congress since most of these jobs require senate confirmation

71
Q

Even though appointees (such as the Secretary of Energy) are the bosses of the bureaucrats, they often have trouble exercising significant authority. Why?

A

Because the bureaucrats often know more, have been there longer, and will still be there
long after the appointee has come and gone

72
Q

4 types of government agencies

A

1) cabinet departments
2) independent regulatory agencies
3) government corporations
4) independent executive agencies

73
Q

Cabinet Departments

A

Headed by a secretary, beneath whom are various deputies and assistants

74
Q

Example of cabinet departments

A
  • department of defense

- department of agriculture

75
Q

Where is the real work of cabinet departments done?

A

Bureaus–divisions within the agency(just like the real work of Congress happens within its “divisions”)

76
Q

Divisions

A

The committees and subcommittees

77
Q

Independent Regulatory Agencies

A

-enforce the laws related to a specific sector of the economy

78
Q

Independent Regulatory Agencies are known as _________ Because…

A

-“independent”
-they are controlled by commissioners who serve
specified terms and who cannot be fired by the president

79
Q

What often happens to independent regulatory agencies?

A

get trapped in iron triangles….when this happens, it is sometimes referred to as “regulatory capture”

80
Q

Examples of independent regulatory agencies(4)

A

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

81
Q

Government Corporations

A

provide a service that could be handled by the private sector

82
Q

Government Corporations examples (4)

A

Postal Service
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Amtrak
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

83
Q

What do bureaucrats do?

A

they take legislation and implement it

84
Q

Even though Congress passes detailed laws….

A

-there is often a lot of gray areas that bureaucrats fill in with their rulemaking authority
-In other words, Congress passes a law, and then
the relevant bureaucracy creates the fine print–also known as rules or guidelines.

85
Q

Reasons agency’s effort to implement a law can fails

A
  • bad law
  • unclear law
  • inadequate funding
  • standard operation procedures,
  • politics
  • fragmentation
86
Q

the law it is charged with implementing is just a hard or impossible one to put into effect

A

Bad law

87
Q

the law is so vague and imprecise that the agency has to make too many guidelines (example: Title IV)

A

Unclear laws

88
Q

the agency may not have enough resources to put a law into effect

A

Inadequate funding

89
Q

the processes that must be followed within an agency…..this can make action very
sloooooooooooooooow

A

Standard operating procedures (SOPs)

90
Q

Standard operating procedures are also known as

A

Red tape

91
Q

a presidential administration might have little interest in making sure
certain laws get implemented and enforced (example: Trump and the EPA)

A

Politics

92
Q

sometimes it is not always clear which agency has the responsibility to implement and enforce a law

A

Fragmentation

93
Q

The first regulatory agency ever created and its mission

A
  • Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887

- to regulate the railroads.

94
Q

How can Congress and the president control federal agencies? (6)

A

1) Appoint like minded secretaries to head the agencies
2) issue executive orders to the agencies
3) adjust the budgets of the agencies
4) re-organize the agencies
5) hold hearings to ensure oversight of the agencies
6) rewrite a law to limit the discretion of the agencies in writing rules and guidelines

95
Q

Olsons Law of Large Groups

A

Really large groups often suffer from a free rider problem

96
Q

Example of gray are bureaucrats may fill in

A

Congress passes a law mandating that students all across America
must wear name badges. If the law doesn’t specify, it might be the Department of
Education that decides what constitutes a “badge,” what “wearing” means, etc.

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