Interest groups and how public policy is made

Grade 12 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to C on who organizes. Card A, "An idea" (summary in our words, not a quotation): Some political scientists note that a group with few members, each of whom gains or loses a lot from a policy, finds it easier to organize than a group with many members who each gain or lose a little. Card B, "A proposed fee in Marlow" (invented, for practice): Marlow considers a fee on imported tile. Twelve tile importers would each lose $2 million. About 400,000 shoppers would each pay about $80 more over a year. Card C, "Two groups" (invented, for practice): The Marlow Tile Importers Association has 12 members, meets monthly and pays a lobbyist. Marlow Shoppers United is a website with 3,000 sign-ups and no staff.

2. 1.

   Suppose the fee instead fell on 12,000 small shop owners, each losing $2,000. Bo uses Card A. How does organizing compare with the 12 importers?

   • Easier than for the importers, since 12,000 members can pool far more money in total
   • Equal, since the total loss to shop owners, $24 million, matches the importers' total
   • As hard as for the shoppers, since both groups have many members
   • Harder: more members with a smaller stake each, as in Card A's large-group case
3. 2.

   Jun reads this claim: 'Small groups always beat large groups in politics.' Which response do Cards A to C support?

   • Overstated: Card A is about organizing easily, and the cards show no outcome
   • Right: Card A says concentrated groups win, and the importers have a lobbyist
   • Wrong: the shoppers lose more in total, so large groups win
   • Wrong: Shoppers United has a website, so it can organize as easily as the importers

4. Use this

   Cards A to C on rulemaking. Card A, "The policy cycle" (summary in our words, not a quotation): The stages are agenda setting, drafting options, adoption by a vote, implementation by an agency, and evaluation. After a law passes, an agency writes the detailed rules. It publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments and must consider the relevant points raised before it issues the final rule. Card B, "Comments on a rule in Marlow" (invented, for practice): The Marlow Water Board proposes to limit lawn watering. It receives 9,000 identical form letters opposing the rule and 40 individual comments. One is from the town engineer, with data showing the reservoir fell 30 percent in a dry year. One is from a golf course, pointing out that the rule counts its greens as lawns. Card C, "The final rule" (invented, for practice): The Board keeps the watering limit. Its notice says the exemption for golf greens responds to the golf course comment, and the drought trigger, which applies the limit only when the reservoir is below 70 percent, responds to the engineer's data.

5. 3.

   Kira reads Cards B and C. Which comments were tied to changes in the final rule?

   • The engineer's data and the golf course's point, not the form letters
   • The engineer's data alone, since the golf course comment was one of 40
   • The form letters, since 9,000 comments is the largest number the Board received
   • The full 9,040 comments, since Card A says the Board must consider the points raised
6. 4.

   Luz reads Card A. At which stage of the policy cycle did the comments matter, and whose power did they act on?

   • Agenda setting: they decided whether the watering limit would be discussed
   • Evaluation: they judged whether the limit had worked after it took effect
   • Adoption: they reached the legislature, which voted on the final watering limit
   • Implementation: they reached the agency, not the legislature that passed it
7. 5.

   Milo compares the 9,000 form letters with the 40 individual comments in Cards B and C. Which claim do the cards support?

   • Specific comments beat form letters, as the Marlow rule shows
   • The Board ignored the form letters, since the final rule kept the limit they opposed
   • The changes tracked specific points, not the count, though the letters' fate is not shown
   • The count decided the rule, since the Board kept the limit after receiving so many comments
8. 6.

   Noah wants to test the claim that the engineer's data caused the drought trigger. Which added evidence would best test it?

   • Count how many comments mentioned the reservoir, since a count shows what the Board heard
   • Check whether the town engineer has worked for the Board, since insiders shape rules
   • Compare the 30 percent drop in the reservoir with the 70 percent trigger level
   • Compare the proposed rule with the final rule and the Board's response to the engineer

9. Use this

   Cards A to C on campaign money. Card A, "Marlow campaign rules" (invented, for practice): A PAC may give a candidate up to $5,000 for an election. A group may spend any amount on its own ads about an issue if it does not coordinate with a candidate. A PAC must report each donor who gives more than $200 in a year. Card B, "The Marlow Library Fund" (invented, for practice): A PAC with 1,000 members who each gave $50 this year. Donor Kim also gave $300 from a separate account. Card C, "The plan" (invented, for practice): The Fund plans to give $5,000 to Candidate Lee for county board and to spend $30,000 on its own ads about library hours. Lee's campaign has not seen the ads.

10. 7.

    Pia applies Card A to Card C. The Fund raised $50,000 from 1,000 members. Does its plan fit the rules?

    • No: $35,000 in total exceeds the cap, since the cap applies to everything a PAC spends
    • Yes, provided Lee's campaign approves the ads first
    • No: the $30,000 ads exceed $5,000, so the plan breaks the rule
    • Yes: $5,000 is at the cap, the ads are independent, and $35,000 is within the $50,000
11. 8.

    Lee's campaign manager now suggests wording for the Fund's ads. Ren applies Card A. What changes?

    • Nothing, since the $5,000 gift limit is the sole rule in Card A that matters
    • Unlimited ads need no coordination, so coordinating removes that permission
    • The ads become illegal, since Card A forbids a PAC from speaking with a campaign
    • The ads are now allowed in any amount, since a candidate's help makes them stronger
12. 9.

    Tala reads Cards A and B. Which gifts must the Fund report as donors under the rule?

    • Kim and each member, since a PAC must report its donors
    • The 1,000 members' $50 gifts, since together they total $50,000
    • Kim's $300, which is over $200, but not the $50 gifts from the other members
    • No one, since Card A reports gifts to candidates alone and Kim gave to the Fund
13. 10.

    Zee reads this claim: 'The $5,000 limit stops the Fund from spending more than $5,000 on this election.' Which response do Cards A and C support?

    • Right: independent ads are not allowed once a PAC has given to the same candidate
    • Wrong: the cap covers gifts to the candidate; Card C plans $30,000 more in ads
    • Right: Card A caps a PAC's total spending on an election at $5,000 for each candidate
    • Wrong: the Fund raised $50,000, so it can spend that much on its gift