Next question to ponder......The Iron Triangle...what is it? Why is it critical for the functioning of a Republic???Who are the "players" involved?
The Iron Triangle refers to what political scientists call the policy making relationship between the legislature, the bureaucracy, and interest groups. There is one key assumption to be made before the Iron Triangle can be assumed, and that is that bureaucratic agencies seek to establish a solid power base so that they may remain in office and continue to gain political clout and power to spread their ideals and bills. To do this they look to groups of constituents with which they should align and help to guarantee votes from. This is generally not "the consumers" or those people who the laws are designed to help, instead it is those interest groups that align themselves with the same political jurisdiction as the certain committee/branch of government is in charge of. Because the general populace is fairly disinterested and inattentive, rarely votes, and has extremely differing desires from the government, the bureaucracy generally does not rely on these people, but instead on the much more wealthy/organized/voting/donating interest groups. If this assumption is satisfied, then the Iron Triangle may come into existence. The Iron Triangle is comprised of the three members: Congress, Bureaucracy, and Interest groups. Interest groups provide votes and electoral support to the members of Congress. When so few people pay attention to congressional elections, the power of an Interest group to simply get out name recognition for a member may almost guarantee them reelection. In return members of Congress will align themselves with these interest groups and pay special attention to them, making sure that policy beneficial or coinciding with the Interest groups desires will be created or preserved. In return Congress offers funding and public support to those members of the Bureaucracy who in turn help pass the Congressional bills that were in the first place lobbied by the Interest groups. However the bureaucracy is intended to provide oversight and regulation for the interest groups. But because of the support they receive from interest groups lobbying in Congress the bureaucracy will conduct less exacting oversight and have slightly lower regulations. This three way relationship insures that all three forms of government will have their wishes met and this is sometimes referred to as a sub government. However there are downfalls to the Iron Triangle, for one thing it often leaves the general populace out of the loop, and the bills passed are generally designed solely for the Interest group. Thus to gain power it is important to be part of an Interest group, or to at least have coinciding values with a powerful interest group. This Iron Triangle, though sometimes negative, is important to the Republic form of Government because it allows Constituents to make their wishes known and to actually have these wishes carried out. It also helps to create a stable system where members of all three corners of the triangle remain in power and can build up, this way the "sub-government" is above the wishes of the general public and can remain insulated and durable from outside influences. This further protects the governmental system from the problems caused by factious government.
The Iron Triangle refers to what political scientists call the policy making relationship between the legislature, the bureaucracy, and interest groups. There is one key assumption to be made before the Iron Triangle can be assumed, and that is that bureaucratic agencies seek to establish a solid power base so that they may remain in office and continue to gain political clout and power to spread their ideals and bills. To do this they look to groups of constituents with which they should align and help to guarantee votes from. This is generally not "the consumers" or those people who the laws are designed to help, instead it is those interest groups that align themselves with the same political jurisdiction as the certain committee/branch of government is in charge of. Because the general populace is fairly disinterested and inattentive, rarely votes, and has extremely differing desires from the government, the bureaucracy generally does not rely on these people, but instead on the much more wealthy/organized/voting/donating interest groups. If this assumption is satisfied, then the Iron Triangle may come into existence. The Iron Triangle is comprised of the three members: Congress, Bureaucracy, and Interest groups. Interest groups provide votes and electoral support to the members of Congress. When so few people pay attention to congressional elections, the power of an Interest group to simply get out name recognition for a member may almost guarantee them reelection. In return members of Congress will align themselves with these interest groups and pay special attention to them, making sure that policy beneficial or coinciding with the Interest groups desires will be created or preserved. In return Congress offers funding and public support to those members of the Bureaucracy who in turn help pass the Congressional bills that were in the first place lobbied by the Interest groups. However the bureaucracy is intended to provide oversight and regulation for the interest groups. But because of the support they receive from interest groups lobbying in Congress the bureaucracy will conduct less exacting oversight and have slightly lower regulations. This three way relationship insures that all three forms of government will have their wishes met and this is sometimes referred to as a sub government. However there are downfalls to the Iron Triangle, for one thing it often leaves the general populace out of the loop, and the bills passed are generally designed solely for the Interest group. Thus to gain power it is important to be part of an Interest group, or to at least have coinciding values with a powerful interest group. This Iron Triangle, though sometimes negative, is important to the Republic form of Government because it allows Constituents to make their wishes known and to actually have these wishes carried out. It also helps to create a stable system where members of all three corners of the triangle remain in power and can build up, this way the "sub-government" is above the wishes of the general public and can remain insulated and durable from outside influences. This further protects the governmental system from the problems caused by factious government.
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