During the 1930's, the New Deal was established to supplement democracy and to promote the formation of interest groups. Policies were made by the government in order to minimize economic disparity in the United States after the Great Depression. Over the course of eighty years this resulted in a dramatic increase in both the number of interest groups wanting to play a role in the American political process and in their ability to influence government decisions. When introduced, interest groups were intended to provide equal opportunity for all groups and gave poor people a chance to be politically active. However, interest groups today do not properly represent average American's as intended, and oppositely, pose a threat to American Democracy. This can been seen in interest groups ability to influence public officials who hold power to fulfill their wants rather than what the party as a whole wants or what the people want, the majority of interest group members being people with higher incomes and higher levels of education limiting the average citizens ability to influence decisions made, the small group of elites dominating congressional decisions, and the concerning dominance money has in American politics. .
In pressure groups, it is clear how their members can corrupt government officials, using numerous techniques to pressure them into meeting their particular interest groups wants opposed to the parties beliefs to stay in office. "The ethical problem is that most people view the involvement of money in the system as inherently corrupt. Further, most of the time the relationship between lobbyists and elected officials is clouded. We have a murky system where money changes hands and decisions are made. Because of the lack of transparency, people tend to believe that corruption exists and that no one in the political system is working for the good of the people" (Hesse).
