Federal Government & Local Problems

National government should intervene to a large extent in solving state and local social and economic problems. Social and economic problems such as drunken driving, child abuse, educational quality in America, and aid to families with dependent children are issues too important to be left to the states. If one broadly interprets the United States as a nation united, we are one people, not separate states. Because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, national theory (which takes a far more generous view of the powers and responsibilities of the federal government) is theoretically a more viable stance than compact theory (which takes a far less generous view of federal power--in fact, the states and the nation are opposed).

Federalism, the distribution of governmental power between a central authority and its constituent parts, poses serious questions of political philosophy. Do state and local governments really express the national will? Are state and local governments capable of providing for the national will when they are acting upon exclusive and inward-looking concerns for their own distinct interests?

Samuel H. Beer points out, "Throughout our history, [national theory] has informed and supported the broad against the narrow construction of the constitutional power of the federal government . . . however, it is not merely a doctrine of centralization. As its advocates at the time of the founding continually emphasized, the national point of view not

Related Essays

Federal Limitations on State and Local Government .... by the Constitution in this manner poses problems for state and local governments. .... has preempted the entire subject area for the federal government. .... (1838 7 )

Primary Problems of Democracy .... must give great power to the federal government in order .... serious and lofty discussions of liberty and government. .... for example, describes the local community as .... (1554 6 )

Reviving the American Dream .... power to the states and local entities. An overview of any city government would reveal the same problems which Rivlin rightly finds at the federal level--the .... (1564 6 )

Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments .... Act of 1948, in which Congress authorized the federal government to give state and local governments money to solve water pollution problems (Richman, 1999, p .... (1680 7 )

Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972 .... Act of 1948, in which Congress authorized the federal government to give state and local governments money to solve water pollution problems (Richman, 1999, p .... (1696 7 )

elty of this kind of distribution of power was that it was weighted more heavily in favor of the states. The fundamental changes in intergovernmental relations occurring as a result of the "new federalism" may require a closer look at the traditional role of the participants in state policymaking. If it did not call for outright elimination of programs, the "new federalism" specifically redirected many of the functions originally handled by the federal government. The shift away from a centralist government during the Reagan years is enumerated by Hamilton, and it is worth noting in its entirety, as an indication of how far a shift can take a nation away from "national" to "local" concern. The "new federalism" effectively: (1) redirected all federal aid to state government, (2) reduced federal regulations and requirements, (3) reduced or eliminated state and local reporting to federal agencies, (4) deleted programs for citizen participation in the formulation and adoption of programs. By a reduction of intergovernmental aid, Reagan achieved a significant shift in the federal-state balance of power. It is interesting to note that Reagan's "new federalism" was like Johnson's "new federalism," only in the opposite direction.

Category: Government - F