Iron triangle

Iron Triangle Iron triangle is a term which was coined by the United s Political analysts to explain the dynamic nature of making policies among the congress, gorvenmental agencies and special interest groups. The symbiotic relationship among these three factions during times of needing dire support among themselves creates sub governmental situations. In some instances, deals are struck which may even be corrupt to receive support for decisions not within the best interests of the citizens.
Special Interest groups form a key element of the Iron triangle. This group always has the potential of creating a situation in which through lobbying, they go an extra mile in having undue influence on the government of the day. For instance, The National Rifle Association can strategically lobby in order to block proposed gun control measures. The iron triangle concept can come into play in such a scenario the politicians in any of the two congresses bow to the lobbyists then in turn block initiatives like the universal background checks. This would happen even if majority of the voters support the proposed gun control measures.
The congress forms another corner of the Iron Triangle. In many instances, the congress with the long term scheme of winning elections exchanges what can be called friendly legislations to government agencies and bureaucrats. This can always happen in two ways. Firstly, the bureaucrats receive less oversight from the congress which enables them to execute policy more freely. Secondly, agencies, special interest groups and bureaucrats receive lowered regulation and special favours. As an example, a congress person in the Agricultural Committee representing Midwest in the House representatives may lobby from the ethanol industry to support factual evidence on why its beneficial to use corn in producing ethanol. If the ethanol industry sees the congressman’s policies to be beneficial, then they play a great part in lobbying selling the representative as a bet for corn farmers. This would in turn raise chances for reelection.
Government Agencies and bureaucracies form the third corner of the triangle. They have the main responsibility to implement the procedures and policies passed by the congress. Since congress is their key source of funding, they in some instances implement decisions which are in favor of the congress even if those decisions are unpopular with the citizens. For instance, Amtrack can apply dubious tactic of convincing the congress to reduce truck regulations although this has a long time detrimental effect to the safety of train riders.
Having listed the three corners of the triangle, every corner brings out the egocentricity of politicians. They go against serving the popular will and gives self interest preeminence motivated by their greed for power. The special interest groups emerge as the most critical player in the three corners of the triangle. This is as a result of the direct and immediate relation they have with the citizen. For example, if the national Rifle Association convinces the Congress to lower regulations on guns, then the impact of insecurity becomes immediate and the citizens become the most affected. Members of the congress in their quest to win election may not take this as a major priority. Politicians by striking deals with every group in the corners of the triangle emerge as a group awash with malice.
Work cited
Gordon, Adams. The Politics of Defense Contracting: The Iron Triangle Studies on Economic. New York: Transaction Publishers, 1981. Print.