Essay #12

  (a) Divided government is when a political party controls the white house and another party controls the House and Senate. Due to the lack of agreement between the two parties, a political gridlock is often created and creates a standstill between the two where nothing is decided on. A divided government can also cause problems with the relationship between the people and their government because the people lose trust in the government when things aren't being taken care of.

        (b) An incremented cost in election campaigns have caused a distrust in regime in general. This is because as elections have become much bigger, the connection to the public and the political opinions have been lost for more corporate tactics.

        (c) Two specific instances of a decline in trust and confidence in the government are the recent recession and court cases involving congressmen. The recession is a great example of the general public's distrust in their government. This was made evident in the following election with a majority party change. Therefore, court cases involving Congressman or members of the senate being charged with stealing government funding. With a distrust in government citizens decline their right to vote and lead to protest.

3) Trust and confidence in government have declined in recent decades.

(a) Explain how divided government has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government. Be sure to include a definition of divided government in your response

(b) Explain how the increased cost of election campaigns has contributed to the decline in trust and confidence in government.

(c) Explain two specific consequences of the decline in trust and confidence in government for individual political behavior.