Extra Credit [Interest Groups]

1. Four factors explain the rise of interest groups. First factor consists of broad economic developments that create new interests and redefine old ones. The second factor was that government policy helped create them. The third factor is that there is one person that steps up to be the leader of the interest group and devotes his or her time because they are caught up in a political movement or religious doctrine. The fourth factor is that the more activities the government takes, the more people there are that are interested in the activities.
2. People are offered an incentive to join a group. Solidary incentives is a status incentive in the country. Material incentives is the physical possession of any item, money, etc. Purposive incentive is understanding why they should join and get others to join to make the country a better place to live.
3. A social movement is a widely shared demand for some change is some aspect of the social or political order. Social movements need not have liberal goals. Social movements usually occur after a big event such as an oil spill.
4. Funds come in many ways. One way is foundation grants, which are grants from businesses that established a process of issuing grants to groups that require money to continue their efforts. Another form of a grant is a federal grant that comes from the government at the request of the group for a specified project and not for the general group. There is one other way to get money for a group - direct mail. People send out mail asking for money to support the group.
5. Ratings is a way in which political cues are made known. The ratings are designed to generate public support or legislator. The ratings are sometimes biased because of technicalities.
6. Insider strategy - members worked closely with few members of Congress, meeting privately exchanging information and sometime favors.
Outsider strategy - just the opposite, members worked with many members of Congress and meet in public without having the need to exchange favor because that is against the law.
7. Money doesn't really advance an interest group. There needs to be support. Back in the day, members of the interest groups would have their wallets do the talking and influence members of Congress to pass the bills that would help that specific interest group. There was a law that was passed in 1973 that discontinued this. There was a limit as to how much one could give to a candidate for federal office. It also set up PAC's.
8. The "revolving door" theory - that interest groups promise jobs to members of Congress that are cushion jobs that still give out a sum of money in salary if they vote in favor of the group after there term is over.
9. Other methods of getting their views into the public eye and government is to organize a type of rally. The most effective used by proper people are called "sit-ins". It was used most effectively by women when going for their right to vote. The sit-in usually disrupts to working of some institution and if people are arrested, they become martyrs and are glorified.
10. People are defined a lobbyist if they spend more than 20% of their time lobbying, are paid at least 5,000 dollars in a 6 month period to lobby, and corporations that spend at least 20,000 dollars in any 6 month period on their own lobbying staff.