Ways to Influence on the Government

While many people often believe that they have a say in how the government is run, that usually isn't the case. Although there are countless ways to try and influence the government, many attempts are simply ineffective. And, while one can't dictate government policy, it is possible to influence the government. However, not all attempts, such as lobbying and elections, in doing so are successful. The bitter reality is, that whoever holds the money, is more often than not the one to influence the government.

 

        One of many common ways used to try and influence the government, is through lobbying. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence legislation on behalf of a special interest. Unlike other methods, lobbying can play a huge rule in influencing the government, because lobbyists start right at trying to influence the people who write the laws, the legislature. One example of lobbying would be the influence on the Food and Drug Administration agency to try and augment the budgets, with the argument that it was in the public interest. I believe that the efforts of lobbyists, when executed correctly, are capable of being extremely effective. However, I still don't find that many lobbyists work to influence the government for the people, so much as they do for the group or business they work for. But, the lobbying method is still an effective method, even if it doesn't guarantee the people a say.

 

        Another method of influencing the government, is through elections. Unlike lobbying, elections offer the people more of an option to put their say into whom they want to run the country, or run their state; for example, the country's most recent presidential election, that boiled down to Trump and Clinton. The people had the option to place their respective votes for who they believed was best suited to run the country. However, I believe elections to be more ineffective than effective, because even though everyone of age can place their vote, the biggest determiner in who wins the election is the Electoral College and/or people with money.

 

        While there are countless methods to try and influence the government and the laws they create, I truly don't believe that the common citizen has a great deal of say in how the government is run. Being run, in majority, by rich white males since its birth, the government is run in a way that benefits the rich and itself more than the average people of the country. However, voting does offer citizens some say, but it does not offer as much as most people believe. As for lobbying, that does more often than other methods prove more effective, but is more often beneficial to businesses or people of higher status than it is of the average person. The bitter reality of the government, is that the people with the money have the most say, and the people with the money decide how the government is run.

 

Bibliography:

URL-https://www.dictionary.com/browse/lobbyist?s=t  Website Title- Dictionary.com Article Title- Lobbyist Date Accessed- July 26, 2018

URL- https://www.people-press.org/2015/11/23/8-perceptions-of-the-publics-voice-in-government-and-politics/ Website Title- Pew Research Center for the People and the Press Article Title- 8. Perceptions of the public's voice in government and politics Date Published- November 23, 2015 Date Accessed- July 27, 2018

URL- https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/power-quiz/395273/ Website Title- The Atlantic Article Title- How Much Political Power Do You Have? Date Published- June 23, 2015 Date Accessed- July 27, 2018

URL- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbying_in_the_United_States Website Title- Wikipedia Article Title- Lobbying in the United States Date Published- July 20, 2018 Date Accessed- July 27, 2018 

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