Reference no: EM133507037

Assignment:

In the last Presidential election, just over 60% of the voter age population turned out to vote in the US. In the last Congressional election, about 49% of Americans turned out to vote. Some people say that this is good because people are happy with the status quo and don't feel the need to change things. Others say it is bad because it demonstrates that people don't care about government. And yet, we have this category of concerned citizens labeled "interest groups" that seem to pay attention to government all the time. We have all heard about how special interests seem to control what is going on in Washington, Austin, and City Hall; how lobbyists use their money to control politicians; and how PACs are able to buy elections. Yet these groups are actually paying attention to what is going on in government.

Here's my question, since interest groups actually pay attention to what government is doing all the time, don't they deserve to reap the rewards of being able to use the system to their advantage? If they do deserve these rewards because they have invested their time to understand the system and the issues facing government, why do they get such a bad rap? Or, are interest groups unfairly taking advantage of a system they know they can manipulate for their advantage at the expense of others they just don't care for?