Federalism and Politics Unit 5 Part 3

Federalism and Public Policy A public policy is a stated course of action. Announcing a policy means that a person or an organization has decided upon a conscious, deliberate way of handling similar issues.

Federalism and Public Policy Federalism affects public policy making in two ways. – 1. It affects how and where new policies are made in the United States. – 2. It introduces limits on government policy making.

New Ideas develop! (how?) Federalism permits states and special locations to serve as a place where new polices can be developed and tested. For example, Georgia was the first state to allow 18 year-olds to vote. That right was made universal to all states in the 26 th amendments.

New Ideas develop cont’d In 1976, Colorado pioneered the use of the sunset laws. Sunset laws require periodic checks of government agencies to see if they are still needed. In California local interest groups concerned with the environment were able to get the state to start new air – pollution control programs. California laws became a model for national air – pollution laws. In 1967, Florida passed a sunshine law prohibiting public officials from holding closed meetings.

New Ideas develop! (how?) Policies can also originate at the national level. Sometimes when the national government imposes new policies on states local people and groups resist the changes Some great political struggles in the nation’s history have occurred over nationally imposed policies. Example: In the late 1950’s and 1960’s, African American struggled to win voting and other civil rights.

Federalism and Political Parties Rival political parties are key elements of a democratic government. Each political party has a chance to win an election. Federalism helps maintain an equal possibility for any political party to win an election by lessening the risk of one political party from gaining a monopoly on political powers. The Democratic Party controlled the White House for only 5 of the 12 presidential terms between 1952 and 2000.

Political Participation Federalism increases opportunities for citizens of the United States to participate in politics at the national, state, and local levels. Federalism also increases the possibility that a person’s participation will have some practical effect on the government.

Now… Please continue to work on your Study Guide for the midterm next Friday. These notes should help you as well.

Unit 5 Part 4 notes Remember – Test on Unit 5 Wednesday and Midterm on Friday!!!

Many Opportunities Because federalism provides for several levels of government, people have easier access to a political office. The road to a national office can begin at the local or state level. Federalism preserves political organization from the bottom up. American federalism opens access to the government and increases every day citizen’s opportunities for influencing public policy (through voting)

Federalism’s Professional Politicians The large increase in federal programs in the mid- 1930’s called for an increase in bureaucracy to carry out the newly formed legislation (organization of government administrators) The increase in federal programs changed the political relationship of the state and federal officials.

Federalism’s Professional Politicians Mayors, state officials, and others took advantage of the new federal programs and began to work more closely with the federal officials. Example: Organizations like the United States Conference of Mayors established headquarters in Washington, D.C., to keep up with events and to stay in touch with lawmakers.

Differences Among the States Federalism allows for real economic and political difference among the states because it permits each state freedom in arranging its own internal affairs. As a result, some states do more than others to regulate business and industry, while some provide more health and welfare services. Among the individual states, some have stricter criminal law and some have higher taxes.

Differences Among the States Because states can create different economic and political environments, Americans have a wide range of choices regarding the conditions under which they want to live, depending upon which state they live in. This also means that when people cross a state boundary, they become members of a different political system.

The Direction of Federalism From the beginning of our country there has been a debate on how the country should divide governmental powers {between the national government and state government}. In recent decades, Democrats have generally supported and favored the nationalist position. Republicans have favored states’ rights and prefer relying on the judgment of the states and local authorities rather than the national.