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Political Polarization and Advocacy

The political differences between the Democrats and Republicans gives us insight as to why Republicans are together behind the NRA. Some of America's biggest social-issue shifts have been driven by motives other than ideology; young people regardless of party have buoyed America's increasing tolerance of same-sex marriage and marijuana legalization, for example. The ideas behind gun rights and the fear of gun control have brought the polarization to a new level. Republicans may be falling in line with the more conservative factions in their party on everything from gun rights to immigration. In other cases, Republicans are arguably at odds with the NRA on several basic issues, such as whether to expand background checks (according to Pew, 79 percent of Republicans say yes; the NRA says no) and to expand laws keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill (79 percent of Republicans agree that the issue isn’t gun control, and they stand behind the idea that the NRA preaches when they say that we should be looking at mental health issues instead). It seems Republicans have been coalescing in greater numbers around the NRA ever since -- though particularly in the Obama years -- partly driven by our country's increased political polarization.

NRA and the Political Environment

For the last thirty or so years, the National Rifle Society used to support both Republicans and Democrats who were looking to fill seats in federal elections, on the terms that the candidate paid proper attention and care to the NRA’s positions on gun rights. This is no longer the case. The analysis of the independent election expenditures by the New York Daily News and The Trace reveals that over the three most recent federal election cycles, the NRA’s spending on behalf of Democrats has dwindled to virtually nothing — even as overall election-related spending by the gun group soared to more than $32 million in 2014 (The Trace). Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, is among the featured speakers, along with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and former GOP presidential hopefuls Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul. The roster of speakers does not include any Democratic lawmakers. The Supreme Court ruling that removed the cap on what outside groups can spend on independent expenditures — a bucket term for leaflets, postcards and ads supporting or opposing candidates in federal elections, but not given directly to a campaign — has helped the NRA maintain its role as one of the most potent forces in American politics (The Trace).

Coercive Volunteering

Do you ever think that gun lobbyists are forced to live a life that they may not necessarily believe in? Perhaps, for many reasons, senators, state representatives, and CEO's of companies are more inclined to support the resistance against gun control because of the nature of their businesses. In my previous posts I wrote about the deceptive nature of money in guns. Gun sales spike after tragedies, and for a few different reasons in which I addressed previously. The interesting portion of gun policy is the stakeholders- who is involved. Maybe all of these politicians aren't a part of the NRA because they care to further their outreach, cause, or base. Maybe they are just in it for the boost in their own personal careers. Coercive volunteering is certainly a strategy of the NRA. Email blasts to all of their members are a way to encourage people to further the NRA's cause. Buying shirts and donating money are two ways people support the NRA, but being a part of events and making other people feel like they need to join the NRA are a few of the ways that they use coercive volunteering. Volunteering should be done to help the betterment of a community or system. Packing baskets for widows of fallen soldiers, donating your time at a soup kitchen, cleaning homes of the elderly; these are all noble forms of volunteering. Tracking the number of rifle cleaning kits that are in a warehouse is not a suitable form of volunteering to better your community.

Egoism within the NRA

The NRA is one of the least qualified organizations to be calling for volunteers. Regular people that do the work of the NRA are not doing a public service. When you think of volunteering the first thing that comes to your mind isn't judging gun competitions. If anything, volunteering is a way of donating - donating your time. Donating your time to do something for your community is different than just hanging out with a group of fellow gun lovers. The areas available for volunteering at the NRA include:

Competitions

Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program

Friends of NRA Events

Institute for Legislative Action

Membership Recruiter Program

NRA Clubs and Associations

NRA Museums Range Technical Team

Refuse To Be A Victim

Shows & Exhibits

Women's Programs

Youth Hunter Education Challenge

Youth Shooting Programs

Out of every option, it seems less like a service to the community and more like a club meeting. Promoting shooting and gun sales as a method of community service is not at all accurate. Volunteering should be in the name of a good cause, impacting our society in a positive way. The NRA does none of that. The only remotely even plausible good thing that the NRA does for the community is the education and training programs. Alas, these are not free nor are they widely available to non-members, but the idea behind the safety training when handling a weapon is a great idea. If the NRA was to push this piece of their organization upon more people perhaps we would see an increase in gun knowledge and a decrease in gun violence. We know from experience that people that commit mass shootings know their way around a weapon, but that doesn't mean that educating the public wouldn't do some form of good.

Guns’ Effect on the US’ Financial Capital

Gun sales have always been a semi-significant part of the US’ economy. It’s a stable investment for consumers because we always know there will be new and improved weapons, in development and put out for sale. Additionally, law enforcement, securities agencies, hunters, and personal consumers will consistently be purchasing guns. However, in the recent years the gun industry has taken an immense spike after horrific accidents. Gun sales just in 2016 flew 40% higher than the previous year, following the Orlando shootings. Another example came after the San Bernardino shootings in December, gun sales also spiked 40% following the tragedy. Gun sales fluctuate for many reasons, but after shootings it comes down to mostly two. The first reason for the high gun sales after a shooting are because people are scared. More people feel like they need to defend themselves, and guns make some people feel like they’ll be able to prevent the incident should it happen near them. The second reason people flock to gun stores after a shooting is because of the promises politicians make. The re-ignition of the gun control debate is often the face and fury of many gun purchases following a shooting incident. Gun owners feel that politicians are threatening their second amendment right by starting the conversation back up about what needs to be done to keep guns out of the wrong hands. The above chart shows the massive value of the gun market. You can see the total affect throws billions of dollars through our economy. It depends on who you ask, but the numbers are clear- good or bad, the gun industry is worth a major portion of the US’ financial capital.

A Toll Taken on Social Capital

An interesting thought that I had during our class discussion about social capital is rather brutal, very dark, and certainly unspoken. Our conversations about how social capital is built brought the responses of different networks. For example, you can build your social capital at school, you can build your social capital by networking at your job, or an internship, or even a concert. Your social capital is unbounded by the number and nature of relationships you have. Another conversation point from the discussion was, “How is social capital negatively affected?”. This is another interesting point and we talked in class about how your job could negatively affect social capital due to your lack of freedom, and the possibility of the short amount of time you have to socialize. The dark part of my brain jumped straight to my subject area for these discussions. Immediately when discussing a “loss” of capital, I thought of the “loss” of people. Human capital and social capital are both lost when a person dies; i.e. when a person is killed. In America, you are 10x more likely to be killed by guns than other developed countries. What does this mean for social and human capital? Consider the elites of our country, the Steve Jobs and the Mark Zuckerberg’s of the United States. What would happen if we lost these brilliant minds because of our lack of persistence when it comes to gun control? We would lose billions in the tech industries, people would feel the effects literally in their pockets. Business would suffer, consumers would suffer, and of course their families would suffer. Perhaps gun control and policy isn’t the main issue of the agenda yet because no celebrity or public official has been randomly selected to die from gun violence.

Newton Action Alliance

Newtown Action Alliance is an all-volunteer organization founded by Newtown residents after the tragic December 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where 20 children and six educators were senselessly gunned down. They are advocates, made up of and supporting families of victims and survivors of gun violence. One of their main goals is to turn the violence and sorrow from gun violence into meaningful legislation. Newton Action Alliance pushes for the introduction of smarter, safer gun laws and broader cultural change. One thing about this nonprofit that may be different than what we spoke about in class is their support system. The articles and editorials on the site are not only informative about the current issues concerning gun control, there are also bountiful resources on the website for those seeking comfort. The families of Newton, whether they’re the parents of the victims or neighbors and surrounding community members, they all contribute to the idea behind the Newton Action Alliance. With this, the members of this nonprofit are completely voluntary. Those who donate are rewarded with thanks from stories from the families of the victims, and ribbons are available for purchase in hopes to raise funding to push stricter gun control laws. This nonprofit is different than others because of its optimistic light. In contrast to the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, the members of this organization work to inform and educate with compassion, rather than try to bar members of Congress from re-election.

Nonprofit organizations are one of the best ways advocacy groups can get their issue on the government’s agenda. The use of profits solely for the purpose of furthering ideas and promoting conversation about an issue are two of the main reasons why nonprofits are so essential to this country. The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is a nonprofit that focuses on supporting legislature to strengthen gun control. This nonprofit gains support from left wing legislators, and they have recently endorsed Hillary Clinton. Unlike the NRA, this gun-related nonprofit DOES indeed provide a public service. The focus on safety and education about the statistics on gun violence are two of the reasons that this organization is a benefit to the public. In comparison to other gun control focused nonprofits, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is very active and well known. They recently endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, and are backed by Senator Chris Murphy, as well as other democrats serving in Congress. On their website, http://csgv.org/campaigns/ you can find a list of campaigns, or issues that they’re standing up against. Among these are articles and opportunities to sign petitions against the NRA and other gun violence promoting agencies.

#nonprofits

Supporting the NRA Is Not Benefitting Society

We’ve discussed the power of the NRA in our American elections, as well as the unfathomable reasons why it’s considered a social welfare and remains tax exempt. An interesting public policy case is that of John Oceguera. He is a former speaker of the Nevada assembly who recently resigned his lifetime NRA membership after the shootings in San Bernardino. Oceguera was a lifetime member of the NRA but said after the shootings that he could not support the group after its “opposition to any legislation that would help keep guns out of the hands of terrorists.” This statement speaks wonders. The NRA has consistently proven that it’s concerns lie in the market of gun ownership, not in the interest of the social benefit, or any of society at all. The more members, the more guns, the more supporters, the more money the organization has to influence American politics. Oceguera’s NRA resignation shows a style of protest to the gun lobbying association, and in a way makes the public more trusting in his efforts. Oceguera also mentioned that the National Rifle Association should do a better job of keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill, as well as the terrorists that Congress tries to block from ownership. Despite Oceguera’s efforts, the NRA is a few thousand resignations away from making any real efforts to form positive gun policy.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-oceguera-nra_us_5662030de4b08e945fef89f3

NRA: Social Welfare?

The IRS is the bureaucracy responsible for granting tax-exempt status to organizations in the US. One of the most surprising organizations to be given this status is the NRA. Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 section 501(c)(4), the NRA is not required to pay taxes on any of its net income. This is absolutely absurd, considering a good portion of America’s politicians are influenced heavily by the gun lobbying of the NRA. To say that the National Rifle Association is a public welfare, and should be tax-exempt is to declare that the association benefits the entire public. This reality is clearly not the case, especially when gun reform is so desperately ignored within the American Congress. The NRA is oftentimes the head of criticism about gun policy, spreading the message the gun control would do nothing. In response to the Orlando nightclub shootings, the NRA actually blamed Obama, saying that a policy of “political correctness” allowed the Orlando killer to avoid punishment for making threatening comments about minorities at his job as a security guard.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/nra-obama-orlando_us_575f493ce4b071ec19ef017f

The Orlando club shootings shook the nation... for a week. We all talked about reform, legislators posed a dramatic defense to try to get some sort of action, without success. The four men of the "Singing String Quartet" decided to use a powerful mashup of songs as symbolism to represent the horror and pay homage to the victims involved in the Orlando shooting. Much like Colin Kaepernick's unspoken protest, the quartet let their music speak their message. Putting together the songs "21 Guns" by Greenday and Pachelbel's "Canon" was an attempt to bring two songs with opposite meanings to convey an important delivery. The men describe in an interview with HuffPost that their symbolism was to honor the victims, as well as show hope for future enactment of laws to prevent such tragic events. The video is chilling, yet beautiful. The symbolism is powerful throughout the two contrasting songs, the funeral scenery, and the dramatic ending.

#symbolism orlando

In an effort to keep airports safe, a long standing policy that prohibits aviation police to carry guns while on duty was enacted long ago. This law in Chicago is now under heavy scrutiny. Due to the recent attacks on airports officers within airports feel it is necessary to be able to protect themselves and the civilians by way of carrying guns. The current structure has seen some success in that crime at large airports in the area has been relatively low, but the officers within the airports have made efforts to bring guns back to the officers on duty. The original intent of the policy was to keep civilians safe whilst taking the pressure off of officers. The idea behind the policy formulation was positive, but the impact of actual implementation has been less beneficial than previously thought. The policy evaluation is allowing the Chicago legislators to re-evaluate and update the existing law.

#chicago police

Dropping Refugees off of the Agenda

The Paris attacks on Friday the 13th, November 2015 shook the world as an immanent warning to all countries. After the Brussels attack at the end of March, worldwide outrage was met with an attempt at securing one’s own borders. Our government met each incident with its own attempt at strong, American legislature. As of March 2016, 26 states in the US would not consider admitting refugees. Five states would consider it with increased screenings on the incoming refugees. The immediate response from the American public after the attacks was absolutely heartfelt. People poured out their support on their Facebook pages, and a young boy’s letter to President Obama offered his home and his toys to the very famous picture of the Syrian boy harmed in the warfare. This issue was much more popular right after the fact, but later down the road we see implementation of previous legislature being halted in an attempt to overturn the original bills. Little to the public knowledge, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican bill earlier in the year that cracked down on Syrian refugees.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-democrats-block-bill-to-halt-resettling-of-iraqi-syrian-refugees-in-u-s-1453325005

#refugees #implementation #policyfailure

Representative Bureaucracy (Edit)

Between each branch of government is a vast network of workers. The original intent of representative bureaucracy is oftentimes missed in the public respect. Within the federal government, the unrepresentative nature of the elites could be seen as the dismissal of this theory. The Wall Street Journal called upon Robert Gates to offer his opinion specifically on Trump, and his inability to be reasonably bureaucratic, later stating that Trump is outright dangerous. Trump’s record of supporting no one but himself in this campaign has had a treacherous impact on the Republican party’s image. The idea that we could elect a president with no one’s interests but his own in mind absolutely destroys the idea of bureaucracy, and serving your people. http://www.wsj.com/articles/sizing-up-the-next-commander-in-chief-1474064606

#WSJ trump representativebureaucracy

A Lowi Typology: Redistributive Policy

The different opinions on redistributive policies have always been a reason for the polarization between Liberals and Conservatives. These fundamental differences are becoming more a forefront in our current election. Clinton’s campaign promises about Obamacare, more progressive taxation, affirmative action, and expanded social insurance policies have driven her followers towards her and away from Trump, who preaches fear about each of these redistributive actions. Clinton’s urgent message of acceptance towards minorities and women has translated into the view of redistribution from white males to minorities and women. Threatened by such a thought, white, educated males are turning out in mass numbers supporting Donald Trump.

#lowi #redistributive policy

The idea of a Pigovian Tax is to try to offset the social cost that the public may have suffered in response to the negative externalities engaged by individuals or groups. A Pigovian Tax has been pondered by many special interest groups, one in particular based in San Francisco. The voters in SanFran were offered an opportunity to support a possible tax on soda, provided on the basis that too much sugar was unhealthy for consumers. In response, the American Council on Science and Health noted that by this logic many other things must be taxed as well. Fruit juice, granola, and coffee all contain various high amounts of sugar and could lead to disease just as much as soda could. The recommendation came forth that moderation is key, and therefore the Pigovian Tax in San Francisco did not make it to the floor for a vote.

http://acsh.org/news/2016/09/29/san-francisco-soda-tax-feel-good-policy-based-junk-science-10226

#pigovian tax #sodapop #sanfrancisco

An Ode to Lippmann

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