Essay Prompt #2 An Interest Group is an organization of people with similar policy goals who attempt to influence every branch

and every level of government in their own benefit. The different types of Interest Groups fall into five categories, which are Economic (concerned with wages, prices and profits), Business (concerned with matters pertaining to the Elite Theory), Environmental (concerned with environmental protection), Equality (concerned with women and minorities equal protection under the 14th Amendment), and Consumer (concerned with product safety). Interest Group politics play a substantial role in effecting the American political process by means of the Pluralist Theory, Elite Theory, and Hyperpluralist Theory. The Pluralist Theory allows the interest groups to compete and counterbalance one another. This contributes to policy gridlock because no group loses or wins all the time. The Elite Theory, which consists of only a few groupsthe wealthyhold most of the political power. This theory displays the unequal distribution of power among the interest groups, thus contributing to policy gridlock. The Hyperpluralist theory is when too many interest groups are getting too much of what they want and in turn weakens the government. Interest group liberalism refers to how the Government believes that all interest groups are legitimate and thus tries to accommodate all their demands. This consequently creates more bureaucratic agencies, more regulations, more social programs, higher budgets, and ultimately, policy gridlock. Lobbyists are people who are hired by special interest groups whose job is to persuade members of congress into passing and voting on legislation highly beneficial to the interest group. According to opensecrets.org, in 1998 $1.44 billion was used in lobby spending and later in 2011 the amount rose up to $3.30 billion. The National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbied against gun control measures and argued the 2nd Amendment, which guarantees all citizens rights to bear arms. In 2011 the total spent on lobbying was approximately $3 billion according to opensecrets.org. These indications justify policy gridlock through means that any lobbyist is able to use money to persuade legislators to support a certain policy. A PAC (Political Action Committee) provides a means for groups and individuals to engage in electioneeringgetting the right people into office or keeping them there by aiding their campaigns financially and getting their party members support. PAC Contribution Limits of 2011-2012 displays that PACs can only contribute a maximum of $5000 while Super PACs can contribute unlimited amounts. This is in turn causes the elected politician to appeal to the corporations interest. Since only the wealthier interests are advantaged by the PAC system, policy gridlock is subsequently being enacted through acts of impartiality of financial support via PACs.