The State of American Federalism: 1983

Abstract

If the New Federalism had been made into a movie, its sequels could have run under one classic title after another. First there might have been The Honeymoon of the New Federalism, a 1981 springtime release starring David Stockman and Alice Rivlin, followed by Sons of the New Federalism, a congressional conference release in the fall of 1981. The spate of 1982 sequels might have begun with The Big Swap or New Federalism II, starring Richard S. Williamson, the talk of the early 1982 season, followed by The New Federalism Meets the Recession, Bedtime for the New Federalism (screenplay by Rochelle Stanfield and John Herbers), and The Downing of the New Federalism, produced by the Lame Duck Congress. While critics continued to debate whether the New Federalism theme had played itself out, the 1983 season might have been captured by any one of three sequels, ranging in scope from the low-budget sleeper to the epoch of Homeric Americana. The low budget version, The New Federalism Rides Again or New Federalism III, could be patterned after the old cliff-hangers, in which the hero, battered and bruised, makes his comeback, albeit on the quieter regulatory front. In the second version, The Children of the New Federalism, the focus would be on the role of the states, now fully grown, in carrying out the legacy of New Federalism I. The third version, The Return of Federalism, would focus on the underlying trends toward decentralization precipitated by the New Federalism and greater public confidence in the states.