In the past, the activities of political parties often had a very direct effect on citizen's everyday lives. In the 1930s, for example, strong party machines dominated local politics in many large cities. In some cities, such as Chicago, the party machine was almost omnipresent. Had you been living in such a city, the party machine would have affected your everyday life. Party machines then

Question

bestowed government contracts on loyal supporters. The machines often helped the poor and the unfortunate with gifts of food and clothing (particularly before an election). Today, there are no real party machines. Nonetheless, political parties do affect your everyday life, if more indirectly. Consider that whichever party has the most members in Congress dominates that institution. Congressional leaders and committee chairs come from the dominant political party. Thus, a particular political party's success can often lead to new laws and regulations that affect your daily life. You may have to pay higher or lower taxes, face more or fewer employment opportunities, or experience changes in the social environment around you. Suppose, for example, that you live in a city with a relatively high and rising crime rate. If a political party that wants to spend more government resources on crime reduction wins a majority in Congress, your everyday life could be significantly affected. Similarly, political parties play important roles in state legislatures and governorships. A state legislature controlled by Democrats will create and implement different policies than a legislature controlled by Republicans, and vice versa. These policies could affect the amount of tuition you pay, the amount of state taxes that are withheld from your paycheck, the speed limit on your state's highways, the job opportunities available to you, and so on. From this passage, you may infer that

a. Congress can do very little to affect the nation's crime rate.
b. Democrats and Republicans agree on most tax policies.
c. the political party with the majority of Congress has the greatest effect onlaws.
d. party machines have more influence on American life today than in the past.

Answer 1

c