Objective: Explain how various political actors influence public policy outcomes.
Starter: How much money is spent lobbying the U.S. government each year?
1.How accurate was your prediction?
2.Surprised?
3.What adjective would you use to describe the amount of money spent on lobbying?
4.Is all this lobbying legal?
5.Who makes the rules about the legality of lobbying?
6.Who benefits from this lobbying?
7.Who doesn't benefit from this lobbying?
8.Some lobbyists work for groups like the Red Cross, the Sierra Club, or the National Education Association. Others work for weapon manufacturers, golfers associations, or tobacco companies. Overall, do you think that lobbyists have a positive impact on US politics?
9.What big story does the data tell?
10.Why do you think spending on lobbying has doubled in less than 20 years?
11.What is the most important consequence of all this money spent on lobbying?
12.How specifically does lobbying affect elections in the US?
13.What do lobbyists actually do?
14.If you were to become a lobbyist, what group or company would you want to lobby for?
15.Imagine that lobbying and lobbyists were outlawed. How would the US political system most change because of this?
16.Is this data good or bad news?
17.Why do these groups and businesses spend all this money to lobby the government?
18.What group spent the most money on lobbying in 2016 and how much did they spend?
19.What sector of industry spent the most on lobbying in 2016?
Word of the Day
public sector/private sector
- Define it
- Provide an example
- Think about members of your family; do they have private sector or public sector jobs?
- Which sector do Republicans/Democrats think should be most prevalent?
- How might interest groups bridge the gap between the public and private sectors?
Methods of Influencing Government
Interest groups ultimately try to...
The primary way that interest groups gain access to policymakers is through political contributions. They then try to influence them through lobbying. We will take a look at those here! Note: this was completed by last years' students. You are welcome to edit/improve.
- gain access to policymakers
- support sympathetic policymakers
- influence public policy
The primary way that interest groups gain access to policymakers is through political contributions. They then try to influence them through lobbying. We will take a look at those here! Note: this was completed by last years' students. You are welcome to edit/improve.