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?

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

   Esme reads Card C. Shoppers United has 3,000 sign-ups among about 400,000 affected shoppers. What does that comparison with the importers show?

   • The importers are right on the merits, since they organized better than the shoppers
   • The importers organized all 12; Shoppers United reaches under 1 percent, fitting Card A
   • Shoppers United reaches 7.5 percent of shoppers, which shows broad support
   • Shoppers United is failing, since 3,000 sign-ups with no staff shows the cause lacks support
4. 3.

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

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

5. 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.

6. 4.

   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 full 9,040 comments, since Card A says the Board must consider the points raised
   • The form letters, since 9,000 comments is the largest number the Board received
7. 5.

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

   • Evaluation: they judged whether the limit had worked after it took effect
   • Adoption: they reached the legislature, which voted on the final watering limit
   • Agenda setting: they decided whether the watering limit would be discussed
   • Implementation: they reached the agency, not the legislature that passed it
8. 6.

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

   • The count decided the rule, since the Board kept the limit after receiving so many comments
   • 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
9. 7.

   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
   • Compare the proposed rule with the final rule and the Board's response to the engineer
   • 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

10. 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.

11. 8.

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

    • 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
    • Yes, provided Lee's campaign approves the ads first
    • No: $35,000 in total exceeds the cap, since the cap applies to everything a PAC spends
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
    • No one, since Card A reports gifts to candidates alone and Kim gave to the Fund
    • Kim's $300, which is over $200, but not the $50 gifts from the other members
    • The 1,000 members' $50 gifts, since together they total $50,000
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: 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
    • Wrong: the cap covers gifts to the candidate; Card C plans $30,000 more in ads
    • Right: independent ads are not allowed once a PAC has given to the same candidate