Interest Groups
Benefits
• Help address the Free-rider problem:
– “public goods can be enjoyed by everyone,
including people who do not pay their fair share of
the cost of providing those goods”
– Provide selective benefits, organize efforts, give
“do-getters” an outlet
Scholarly Attitudes
• Theodore Lowi
– Help address the Free-rider problem:
• “public goods can be enjoyed by everyone, including
people who do not pay their fair share of the cost of
providing those goods”
• Organize efforts, give “go-getters” an outlet
Scholarly Attitudes
• Theodore Lowi
– Help address the Free-rider problem:
• “public goods can be enjoyed by everyone, including
people who do not pay their fair share of the cost of
providing those goods”
• Organize efforts, give “go-getters” an outlet
• Dahl
– Pluralist Perspective
• Groups are inevitable at all ranges
• Will balance each other out
Citizens United v.
Federal Election Commission (2009)
• 1st Amendment protects of free speech
extends to businesses and organizations
• Congress cannot limit campaign donations
Obama, on the decision…
• “a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks,
health insurance companies and the other
powerful interests that marshal their power
every day in Washington to drown out the
voices of everyday Americans.”
Barack Obama
John McCain
Obama, on public financing (2007)
“My plan requires both major party
candidates to agree on a fundraising truce,
return excess money from donors, and stay
within the public financing system for the
general election...If I am the Democratic
nominee, I will aggressively pursue an
agreement with the Republican nominee to
preserve a publicly financed general election.”
If no PACs or public finance, where
does the money come from?
• White House Spokesman Ben Labolt:
– Obama "didn't accept a dime from corporate PACs
or federal lobbyists…He raised $750 million from
nearly 4 million Americans,"
Goldman-Sachs Donations
University of California
How do we feel about a
university donating to a
political campaign?
CNN
“In the 2008 election, three out of every four
dollars contributed by Goldman Sachs went to
Democrats.
“Since the 2008 election, FEC reports indicate
that Goldman Sachs has contributed generously
to Senate Banking Committee and House
Financial Services Committee members. The two
panels are responsible for oversight of the
industry.”
“Own Washington”
• Do lobby dollars influence Congressional
voting?
– McConnell: “Prove it.”
• Why/why not?
Rules for a Series of One Shot Games
with Different Partners
1. Find a partner, preferably someone you do not know
well.
2. Do NOT communicate with your partner about your
intentions. A “poker face” is a must.
3. Write down whether you will “cooperate” or defect” on
the table in the sheet you are given. Secretly write "C" if
you plan to cooperate with your fellow prisoner and
keep silent; write "D" if you plan to defect and tell the
authorities everything.
4. Using the matrix above, compare your decision with
your partner’s and determine how many years YOU will
spend in prison.
5. Mark down your sentence (10, 2, or 0 years) and switch
partners.
Rules for Iterated Series of Games
with SAME Partner
1. Choose a partner with whom you have NOT
played before.
2. Play the game repeatedly with the same
person. You will not know exactly how long
the game will continue. Keep playing and
recording your scores until the instructor tells
you to stop.
The Joker’s “Social Experiment”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4GAQtGtd
_0
The Joker’s “Social Experiment”
Let’s walk through some alternatives…