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Economics and the Future of Federalism

In: Other Topics

Submitted By agalambos
Words 1006
Pages 5
Economics and the Future of Federalism The trends in the current political climate in America tend to be more Americans wanting a less centralized government and to give more power back to the states. In the era of President Bush who ran an administration that seemed to give a lot of power to the states, and over the last 7 years we have had an administration that formed a strong central government this has really seemed to divide our country as to what the people actually want. This can be evidenced through the midterm elections in November 2014 with a sweeping number of states going red, and the Republicans taking control of both houses of Congress (ABC News, 2014). It is still early to know who and how our next President will run their administration, but it will be interesting to watch how the future of federalism in our country unfolds. The purpose of this paper is to determine how special interest groups can affect the future of federalism.
Special Interest Groups and Federalism Special interest groups are very important in the political realm as they are formed by individuals coming together with a shared common goal: to lobby their views to change public opinion and pass policies. The passing of these policies is where special interest groups and federalism intersect. Special interest groups can be dangerous to federalism as they can exert much influence over politicians and an issue. An example of this is the National Rifle Association which yields over 4 million members and donates millions in campaign contributions (The Washington Post, 2010). These contributions often own candidates and can result in them unwilling to work with others to make changes when it comes to gun policies.
New Federalism Concepts There are three important concepts which can play a critical role in balancing the effects of special interest groups by creating a system of

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