Overview: 

How does the Legislative Branch shape both political and economic outcomes in society?

This unit explores the structure, function, and influence of the Legislative Branch within the American system of government while integrating key economic concepts and principles. Students will examine how Congress—alongside state legislatures—shapes economic outcomes through lawmaking, fiscal policy, and regulatory powers. By connecting government function with economic impact, this unit equips students to understand the legislative process as both a political and economic engine.

Students will begin by analyzing the structure and roles of the legislative branch at the local, state, and national levels, understanding how representation and lawmaking work within a federal system. They will explore the formal process of how a bill becomes law and the informal processes of lobbying, committees, and party politics that influence legislation. Students will also analyze the historical and current processes for amending both the U.S. and Colorado Constitutions, emphasizing how legislative actions have reshaped civil rights and responsibilities.

Through the lens of economics, students will explore how legislators use tools such as taxation, spending (fiscal policy), and regulation to address market failures and economic crises. They will apply the economic way of thinking to evaluate scarcity, opportunity cost, and the trade-offs faced by lawmakers when allocating limited resources. By using supply and demand analysis, students will evaluate the legislative role in regulating monopolies, providing public goods, mitigating externalities, and ensuring equitable access to essential services.

This unit also connects the legislative branch to the broader economic environment by introducing key economic indicators—such as GDP, inflation, and unemployment—and exploring how these indicators influence and reflect legislative priorities. Students will assess how congressional decisions impact different segments of the population, and how the costs and benefits of these policies vary based on economic and political interests.

Finally, students will examine how laws passed by Congress and state legislatures affect the electoral process, particularly in relation to campaign finance, redistricting, and voting laws. They will also debate the advantages and disadvantages of the U.S. two-party system and consider how the legislative process operates within this partisan structure.

The highlighted evidence outcomes are the priority for all students, serving as the essential concepts and skills. It is recommended that the remaining evidence outcomes listed be addressed as time allows, representing the full breadth of the curriculum.

Students Can (Evidence Outcomes):

• Explain the economic way of thinking: The condition of scarcity requires choice and choice has a cost (opportunity cost). (3.1.a)

• Analyze how the principles of economic thinking influence the choices made by individuals, households, businesses, and governments. Including but not limited to: cost vs. benefits, thinking at the margin, incentives matter, trade makes people better off, and future consequences count. (3.1.b)

• Analyze how factors of production (land, labor, capital) are brought together to produce goods and services in an economic system. (3.1.c)

• Use supply and demand analysis to explain how competitive markets efficiently allocate scarce resources. (3.2.b)

• Compare and contrast the market outcomes created by various market structures including monopolistic competition, oligopoly, and monopoly. (3.2.c)

• Explore the role of government in addressing market failures. For example: Monopoly power/antitrust legislation, public goods, negative/positive externalities, the environment, property rights, regulation, access to essential goods and services, and income distribution. (3.2.d)

• Explore the role of government in addressing market failures. For example: Monopoly power/antitrust legislation, public goods, negative/positive externalities, the environment, property rights, regulation, access to essential goods and services, and income distribution. (3.2.d)

• Compare and contrast different types of taxing. For example: Progressive, regressive, proportional, and marginal vs. average tax rates. (3.2.e)

• Explore the multiple roles governments can play dealing with economic crises, including monetary and fiscal policy changes, and reallocation of resources and redistribution of wealth. (3.2.f)

• Describe how economic indicators provide various perspectives of the health of the economy and vary with the business cycle. Including but not limited to: Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, and other non-traditional indicators. (3.3.a)

• Describe how fiscal and monetary policy are used to manipulate the economy including their potential lasting consequences. (3.3.b)
  Explore how all policies have costs and benefits that impact participants of an economic system in different ways. (3.3.c)

• Research and discuss current issues to participate in civil discourse. (4.1.a)

• Describe and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptability of a variety of methods of civic participation that individuals and groups may use to shape policy at various levels of government. (4.1.b)

• Explain the roles and influence of individuals, groups, and the press, as checks on governmental practices. For example: Direct contact with elected officials, participation in civic organizations, use of social media, and attendance at local governance meetings.  (4.1.c)

• Describe the origins, purposes, and limitations of government, and include the contribution of key philosophers and American historical figures of diverse backgrounds. (4.2.a)

• Identify the structure, function, and roles of current members of local, state, and national governments. Including but not limited to: understanding the three branches of government at each level of government. (4.2.b)

• Analyze the processes for amending the Constitutions of Colorado and the United States and the significant changes that have occurred to those documents including both the Colorado and the United States’ Bills of Rights. (4.2.c)

• Explain the principles of a democracy and analyze how competing democratic values are balanced. For example: Freedom and security, individual rights and common good, general welfare, and rights and responsibilities. (4.2.d)

• Analyze how current global issues impact American policy. (4.2.h)

• Analyze the impact of state and federal policies on campaigns and elections. For example: PACs, campaign finance, gerrymandering/redistricting, state and federal voting laws and regulations, Colorado’s voting laws, and the Federal Election Commission. (4.3.c)

• Analyze how individual rights have been affected over time by court decisions, legislative debates at various levels of government, or by the advocacy of individuals and groups. (4.3.d)

• Examine the advantages and disadvantages of a two-party system or a multiparty system within a democratic government. (4.3.f)