The comparison between National Rifle Association and the American Association of Retired People in regard to power

Abstract The NRA, National Rifle Association, was formed in 1871 by Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate. This followed a poor show of marksmanship by their troops. The main aim of forming the group was to encourage people to practice shooting as a sport or a form of entertainment.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The comparison between National Rifle Association and the American Association of Retired People in regard to power specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More AARP, American Association of Retired Persons, is a membership organization that is comprised of senior citizens who are 50 years and above. It was founded by Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus to protect the social life interest of senior citizens ranging from job placement, money management, tax preparation and prescribed drug cost especially so negotiating for an affordable health insurance. Both NRA and AARP are prominent, but I find NRA being mor e powerful than AARP. Between the two organizations AARP, has the larger membership of about 35.7 million as of February 2010 (NRA, 2011) which is almost ten times that of NRA which was estimated at 4.3 million(Opensecrets.Org, 2011). Over the years, changes occur in most interest groups that see their membership rise or fall. Some of these reasons are as a result of members’ frustration due to lack of expected results or while membership surge occurs when the interest groups attains certain goals in such an incredible way. In the year 2005, for example AARP was said to have a membership of about 39 million (Kaiser, 2005), this number has however dwindled over the years to the current 35.7 million. On the other hand, NRA membership has been growing through the years even though not at a very high rate. In many cases, growing numbers indicate growing faith if not trust and power. With such a high number of members comes power, but that is not always automatic. Power is the abi lity to influence policy making in both the political arena and legal framework. Having a high number of members therefore puts an interest group in a better position for negotiation than its counterpart; however, power is sought rather than given on a silver platter.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More While AARP may have the numbers to be able to put so many candidates through to congress their influence on policymaking is minimal as compared to the influence made by the NRA. With its 4 million members, NRA is able to reach out to the congressmen and influence the policies that they make in a way that favors and protects the interest of her members (AARP, 2011). In 1934 for instance, NRA formed legislative affairs division to counter attacks on the second amendment rights. In 1975, NRA realized the importance of having a political defense to the second amendment and formed the Institute for Legislative Action, (Opensecrets.Org, 2011). In fact sometime this year NRA carried out a survey to establish the problems her members were facing in getting initial firearm certificates and even those renewing (Alger, 2011). Basically, NRA opposes any attempt to restrict gun ownership including background check on those wishing to acquire firearms and worse still firearm registration. Unlike NRA members who exude confidence and gratitude, many members of AARP have ended up frustrated by this interest group due to what they consider poor lobbying of their rights. In an article, Frank Kaiser claims that more than 14 million seniors under Medicare plan without drug coverage still struggle to buy medicine among other expenses (Kaiser, 2005). If healthcare was the main objective and idea behind the organization then the organization has failed its members. AARP then lacks the power to have the interest of her members catered for. Over the years, AARP has severally been ac cused of furthering other interests other than those of its members. Frenk (2010) observed that more than 40 million people are still uninsured due to lack of affordable quality services. While AARP is supposed to be a non-profit making organization some of her revenue has been attributed to proceeds that are made from selling insurance and other financial services to the members. In 2005, AARP was involved in a tag of war with the then administration of President Bush who wanted to introduce a scheme where social security would be privatized.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The comparison between National Rifle Association and the American Association of Retired People in regard to power specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This opposition made some people to question the credibility and integrity of the organization. Indeed James K. Glassman an enterprise scholar is reported to have said that the idea sug gested by Bush had fewer risks as compared to AARP’s selling of mutual funds (Gleckman et al, 2005). This was a real show of distrust. AARP’s reputation suffered a major setback in the sense that it was clear to all that the organization put commercial interests before that of the members. Controversy seems to have dogged AARP for a long time. In the year 1979, one of its founders Leonardo Davis was forced out of office in a most embarrassing way on claims of illegal business practices and representing the organization in fraudulent way (Jeanty, 2011). In the year 2007 AARP made 497.6 million dollars from royalties and fees that the organization receives from the companies she endorses (Kaiser, 2007). Reputation is a vital component of power or the route to get there. Once the reputation is dented power is lost. Since both NRA and AARP are interest groups and nonprofit making at that the one sure way of comparing the money they have is looking at the way they spend the money to get their way or to influence policy makers through lobby groups. AARP have an upper hand in that their members are exclusively senior citizens who comprise nearly half of the voting citizens and therefore they can claim to have put most politicians to office. NRA on the other hand is not as lucky. The only way for her to get access to power is through lobby groups. The NRA lobby machinery or group is so powerful that it has grip on both houses of congress. Actually in the year 2001 NRA replaced AARP as Washington’s most powerful lobbying group.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More When it comes to organization, NRA has got it all right. In order to make their lobbying as effective as possible, NRA established Institute of Legislative Action (ILA). This arm of NRA serves also to mobilize and inform the public about various undertakings of the organization. This makes members feel involved and part of the whole process. Apart from visiting universities and giving talks NRA has accounts on the social network such as twitter and facebook. Keeping in touch with her members makes them feel closer and important which is a vital factor in maintaining a good reputation and power. AARP on the other hand seem to have slept on their job. Most of the lobbying and public relations are marketing related and most people feel that their needs are not being addressed or worse still the organization has lost focus of its mandate. Though AARP has attained some heights in the past, there is need to re-focus. According to New York Times, â€Å"AARP has adopted a pragmatic, bipart isan approach over the last decade. Using its well-financed lobbying machine, the group was instrumental in obtaining Medicare prescription drug coverage in 2003, blocking George W. Bush’s efforts to privatize Social Security in 2005 and getting President Obama’s health care plan passed in 2010.† (Lynch, 2011). The damage done to AARPs reputation is immense and their power to influence decision is little. If world ratings are anything to go by then good reputation is power according to my personal perspective. In his article Daniel Drezner shows how the perception of the US has changed across the globe. He has done this by comparing the perception of the US by other countries when President Bush was in power and when President Obama took over. When several people, especially those that you wish to manipulate, think you are a good person, they also tend to believe that your policies are equally good. That may not always be true but even then, you have more support ers and friends in your camp who are at your disposal. They can trust you they can work with you. When President Obama took over in 2008 the only thing that changed immediately is the reputation of the country. America won more friends and without a word gained back its former position in the world (Drezner, 2009). References AARP. (2011). AARP history. RetrievedFrom  http://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/info-2009/History.html Alger, L. (2011). Notes from the secretary general. National Rifle Association Journal, XC (2), 2. Drezner, D.W. (23rd July 2009). A hard measure of Obama’s soft power. Foreign Policy. Retrievedfrom http://www.drezner.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2009/07/23/a_tangible_measure_of_obamas_soft_power Frenk, J. (2010).Globalization of health and health services. The Journal AARP International. Retrieved from http://journal.aarpinternational.org/a/b/2010/05/Globalization-of-Health-and-Health-Services Gleckman, H et al. (March 14, 2005). By raising its voice AARP raise s questions. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved from  http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_11/b3924050_mz011.htm Jeanty, J. (2011). About the AARP Lobby. Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_4564694_the-aarp-lobby.html Kaiser, F. (2005).When will AARP grow some balls. Suddenly Senior. Retrieved from http://www.suddenlysenior.com/aarpgrowballs.html Lynch, F. R. (23rd June 2011). How AARP Can Get Its Groove Back. New York Times: Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/opinion/24lynch.html?_r=1 NRA. (2011). A brief history of the NRA. Retrieved from http://www.nra.org/aboutus.aspx Opensecrets. Org. (2011). National rifle Assn: Responsive politics. Retrieved from http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary.php?id=D000000082 This research paper on The comparison between National Rifle Association and the American Association of Retired People in regard to power was written and submitted by user Janessa Beasley to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essay Editing

Free Essay Editing Free Essay Editing Free Essay Editing: Do not Neglect the Important! What are your actions when you have got an assignment to write a free essay? What do you concentrate your attention on? When getting an assignment to write an academic paper a student usually spends all his/her efforts and time of course at preparing for his/her writing and making this paper. The matter is that most students consider the task of writing any assignment paper as the process involving gathering of all necessary information (preparation stage) and making of the first as well as the final paper drafts (writing in itself). But what about editing? Unfortunately, just few students pay enough attention to this stage. However, it plays an important role in successful writing of any academic paper. In what way should you edit your assignment free essay? What principles of free essay editing should you keep in mind? Free essay editing: important points Lets focus on the most important things concerning free essay editing: First and foremost, you should remember that free essay editingis an important stage in your assignment essay writing. Although it is the last stage, you should not neglect it. So, edit your free essay carefully before submit it. Free essay editingsuggests attentive reading of the final paper draft and correcting of all possible mistakes that it may have. To find these mistakes you should read your free essay twice at least. Do not hurry! Concentrate on your paper. Nothing should divert your attention. Make use of dictionaries and manuals. They will help you make your spelling, grammar and punctuation correct. Pay attention to the contents as well. You may have missed some words or even phrases. This may misrepresent your ideas and make your free essay difficult to understand. You should also correct such mistakes. Free essay editinginvolves also checking of the paper format. Your free essay should be organized properly. So, if you find out that your paper format does not correspond to the requirements anyhow, you should make some changes. That is what you should keep in mind when getting down to your free essay editing. Help with free essay editing If you are not sure about your ability to make good free essay editing, contact us! We help students not only in writing but also in editing of their assignment papers. We will edit your free essay and you may not worry about its quality. Read also: How to Write a Book Report Essays on Patriotism Critique Essay Write Critical Success Factor Analysis Critical Literary Essay

Small Business Government Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Small Business Government Contracts - Essay Example According to the U.S government, a small business is considered independent in its operations. In most cases, either the income generated or number of employees employed within the company determines the size of companies depending on the type of business the company is in; for instance, a service or production business respectively (Knerly, 2007). Small businesses tend to have privileged access to government contracts. A number of government bodies have been established to help the small businesses to manage contracts and enhance their networking. For example, the National Contract Management Association, Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, as well as the National Center for Small Business Information. To access government contracts, a small business is usually required to meet a number of conditions. There should be popular possession by people disadvantaged communally as well as economically (Knerly, 2007). The federal contracts target people with difficulties in relation to their race, ethnicity, as well as cultural bigotry, groups such as; Hispanic Americans, black Americans, and the Americans with Asian-Pacific descendent are some of the groups that can easily access government contracts. Prior to contracting with the government, establishing a small business requires registration with the federal government. ... Subsequently, the registered business now seeks financial opportunities that will enable it to operate effectively. The federal government provides a number of opportunities for this. For instance, there are opportunities for sub-contracting, federal grants, as well as partnering with other businesses (Knerly, 2007). Differences between the Cost Estimating Relationship (CER) method and the Engineered Cost Estimate Method Knerly (2007) acknowledges that contract pricing is a vital area for small businesses. In most cases, the government first verifies the overall cost of the business before issuing the contracts. This process usually tends to take a long time and thus, it is vital for the business to ensure that it can manage its daily operations. Small businesses can use various techniques to determine the cost of a contract. Among them is Cost Estimating Relationship (CER) technique and the Engineered Cost Estimate technique. The CER method denotes the use of set up relationships be tween independent variables to approximate a cost or price; for instance, using CER to identify the overall cost of production. The technique of approximating the rapport between independent variables and contract cost follows varied processes. First, the business or individual should clearly distinguish the dependent and independent variables they seek to determine. Second is seeking expert advice on the type of business one seeks to start. In this case, assessing the way other businesses have utilized robots in their production. By doing so using CER, a business is able to generate relevant information. Next is to establish the potency between the variables. In estimating the cost of production using CER, the connection linking the dependent to independent