Federalism and aging policy in the 1980s: implications for changing interest group roles in the 1990s

Shifts in the American political landscape during the 1980s had impacts on aging policy and on the behavior of aging interest groups through that decade. But perhaps even more important are the likely effects of those changes on aging policy and on the roles of age-related groups in the 1990s--and probably beyond. First, some of the major policy trends of the 1980s are sketched out, especially the renewed emphasis on federalism. Then, an assessment of their effects on aging policy and aging interest groups is provided. Next, a rationale for focusing on state-level policy and a discussion of current aging interest-group mobilization at the state level are presented. Last, the prospects for aging interest-group influence in the 1990s--a period in which the prior decade's emphasis on dual federalism is likely to continue--is addressed.