The Occupy Wall Street Movement

Occupy Wall Street and the Boston Tea Party: the two most powerful organized protests against unjust and corrupt economies of their time periods, both fought for similar reasons, while using different approaches. Composed of men and women tired of being part of a majority, oppressed, and kept in check by an extremely small minority that held all the power, these two groups took action against their oppressors, showing that they would not sit idly by while others took advantage of them. The Boston Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street were dedicated to bridging the power gap between the bourgeois and the proletariat and reclaiming the rights they both felt they believed that all humans were born with. However, these two groups, both took different

While choosing electing official with common values and philosophies is a great way to get representation on social issues, interest groups are also helpful in keeping an open line of communication with elected officials on what is most important to the affected group. Interest groups use tactics to protect policies by focusing on the unknown consequences and keeping close relationships with government officials whose values are similar (Baumgartner, Jeffery, & Hojnacki (2009). One interest group who has knowledgeable lobbyists to affect public policy is the National Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA is a single issue group who advocates their position by using both the direct and indirect approach to rally support on issues in Congress.

Interest groups in Texas are relatively powerful actors in the political process. Organized interest groups and their representatives, also known as “the lobby” participates in the policymaking and political processes in Texas. Interest groups provide critical channels for Texans to communicate their political preferences and attempt to influence government actors and their fellow

Interest Groups are individuals that share common beliefs/interest who actively attempted to influence policymakers. These groups are important because they generally support the political party that represents their own goals and beliefs. Most of the information they spread to the public is biased, but it does help the voters decide in what they believe in and what they stand for. As mentioned in the textbook American Government and Politics Today ‘’Today interest groups range from the small groups such a local environment organizations to natural groups such as American Civil Liberties. ’’

Big powerful special interest groups have interfered with politicians’ decision to do what’s right; it appears that the political system has become corrupted and money plays a big role in their decision and money is very influential in getting the legislators to pass bills. One would believe that our politicians are making the battles between the political parties personally; it appear that if the parties don’t agree with another, they resort to drastic measures such as shutting down the government causing more hardship on

… By formalizing political participation through rules for suffrage and for counting ballots, electoral systems allow large numbers of people, who individually have little political power, to wield great power. (p. 164) Social and political groups are formed to convey political interests, these groups fall under the umbrella term “interest groups”. Interest groups are organizations composed of individuals who have similar political interests. These groups use a number of activities to influence government policy and decisions.

Occupy Wall Street Since the beginning of the 1900’s the world has seen more and more social movements being led by young people, who protest against the worlds inequalities. These movements range from the civil rights movement, to the hippie movement in the late 60’s to more “modern” movements. One of those movements is the Occupy Wall Street movement or OWS for short. From October 2011 onward, OWS was not only the largest protest movement in North America but also sparked worldwide protest that either used the Occupy name or embodied the OWS ideology in some way. This essay will first talk about the origin of OWS, its ideology and goals and will then move on to talk about the ripple effect it had on the rest of the world.

Because interest groups are protected by the First Amendment, they cannot be outlawed. However, their activities--particularly lobbying and making financial contributions--can be regulated. The 1973 Lobby Regulation Act, amended in 1983, is much more effective than two earlier attempts at regulating interest groups, one in 1907 and the other in 1957. In spite of its more stringent provisions, the total number of persons lobbying is much higher than the fifteen hundred groups and persons who annually register. The rise of bureaucracy requires interest groups to influence key points in government.

Today, we still find significant concerns for how vast and powerful interest groups and their associated PACs have become over the past few decades, and their far reaching ability they have to affect even the highest court in the

One example of an interest group is AARP. AARP is a United States interest group with membership. It was founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, Ph.D. And Leonard Davis. AARP has vast membership so it is able to generate its own income without being dependent on government grants or private donors. I read on Tuesday night on Facebook how disappointed they were in the Senate 's vote to proceed on the new healthcare bill and how they would inform 38 million members how their Senators voted so they could hold them accountable.

Our 27th President, Theodore Roosevelt, addressed that “our government, national and State, must be freed from the sinister influence or control of special interests. Exactly as the special interests of cotton and slavery threatened our political integrity before the Civil War, so now the great special business interests too often control and corrupt the men and methods of government for their own profit” (Roosevelt, 1910).

The first Occupy movement began in the Wall Street financial district on September 17th 2011. The following three weeks saw protesters occupy areas in 951 cities throughout 82 countries (Deluca et al., 2012). While the first Occupy camp was set up in Zuccotti Park (Occupy Wall Street), the idea of using social media to catalyze public protest arose earlier that year with the Arab Spring movement (Brownlee, 2013). In the Middle East, the oppressed citizenry took to the streets to protest a lack of democracy, political corruption, and general government mismanagement. The causes of the Occupy movement were of course very different, for they centered on a global problem, as opposed to a regional problem, focusing on the unequal distribution

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” (Bailey). The US Constitution provides all Americans with the right to peacefully petition the laws made by the government in the First Amendment. Without the right to petition, American schools would still be segregated between African Americans and whites and most women would still mainly be housewives. Some of the everyday things experienced in America were once fought for tirelessly by protesters. Protests have changed the country and often have a ripple effect in society and in government.

The group I selected for my midterm paper is the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council). The NRDC is a joint coalition of Scientists, Lawyers, and other professionals with the mission of protecting and restoring the environment through governmental policy. Narrowed goals of the NRDC include preventing global warming, improving the quality of the oceans, protecting endangered wildlife and natural resources, keeping water sources clean, and incubating sustainable communities. The NRDC has a strong presence in the media, industry, and the government, which allows the organization to make progress in changing policies and regulations There are several defining qualities of an interest group. The first quality of an interest group is that it is formed though a mass movement, or change in idea amongst the public.

This essay will discuss the impact of lobbyist on legislation in Washington, DC and the amount of dollars spent to influence federal policies. Throughout a normal day in Washington DC, the hustle and bustle of lobbyist is taking place in the Capital building, White House and along K Street, which is the home of many of the lobbying firms. There are special interest groups, corporations and industries that hire in-house lobbyist or lobbyist firms to influence legislation to benefit their cause. For example, some of these causes may include, but are not limited to tax breaks, subsidies and changes to current regulations or laws.