Date post: | 27-Dec-2015 |
Category: |
Documents |
Upload: | eric-gallagher |
View: | 214 times |
Download: | 0 times |
*Our 1st Try: Confederation
*Regional (state) gov’ts have most of the power with a weak national government
*States are sovereign; national gov’t can do only what states permit
*Founders had a preference for state sovereignty but the Articles of Confederation showed them the system was unworkable
*Ex. Articles of Confederation, European Union
*What we wouldn’t try: Unitary
*All gov’t power is in the central gov’t; states and localities are dependent on central gov’t
*Most common structure of gov’t (Ex. Britain)
*May be democratic or authoritarian
*Founders feared this structure would lead to a national gov’t so powerful it could become authoritarian
*Not feasible: people too attached to states; state would never give up all their power
*What we kept: Federalism
*System in which national & regional (state) gov’ts share power
*Ex. U.S., Canada, Mexico
*No real examples when we created it
*Constitution doesn’t list state powers; when state and national gov’ts conflict national wins
*Division of power between levels intended to protect against tyranny
*Advantages of Federalism
*Federalism checks the growth of tyranny
*Federalism allows unity without uniformity; easy to add territory
*Federalism encourages experimentation; good for a diverse nation
*Federalism keeps government closer to the people
*Training for national officials
*More arenas for public participation
*Federal Systems Disadvantages
• Makes national unity difficult to achieve and maintain
• State governments may resist national policies
• May permit economic inequality and racial discrimination
• Law enforcement and justice are uneven
• Smaller units may lack expertise and money
• May promote local dominance by special interests
Number of Governments in the United States
Number of Governments in the United States
3,143
Over 89,000 governmentsin the United States today
*Snowball Fight
*2 Truths and a Lie –
*You need 3 pieces of scrap paper.
*On 1 scrap write a truth about federalism.
*On 1 scrap write a truth about federalism.
*On 1 scrap write a lie about federalism.
*Roll them into a ball. Wait for directions.
*Dual Federalism: 1790s to 1930s
*Clear separation of powers between national & state gov’ts
*Each sovereign in their own sphere
*Sometimes called Layer Cake Federalism
*Cooperative Federalism: 1930 - 1960
*National & state gov’ts share functions & collaborate on national priorities such as infrastructure projects, job welfare, etc.
*Sometimes called marble cake federalism
*Federal money enables cooperative federalism
*a.k.a. Creative Federalism: 1960 – 1980
*Enabled by Fiscal Federalism began to overload cooperation with cross cutting regulations
*Began to bypass states and give grants directly to local governments
*Weakened the states
*What trends do you see in these graphs? What is the broader impact?
*The expansion of federal-state cooperation happened through grants
*Categorical grants – federal funding for a specific purpose, often with strings attached
*May be project (VERY specific items) or formula grants ($ is distributed for a particular purpose through a pre-ordained formula)
*Grants provided federal $ form state run programs
*Creative Federalism Advantages
*Carrot of $ allowed federal gov’t establish minimum national standards for highways, clean air
*States could denounce excessive federal tax & spending while claiming credit for state programs funded by federal $
*States could avoid taxing their citizens
*Firms favor single national rule to 50 state rules
*Equalizes resources among states
*Attacks national problems without growing federal agencies
*Members of Congress act the hero by bringing home the $ for state projects
*Creative Federalism Disadvantages
*More & more mandates (strings) attached (e.g. transportation funds require states to raise drinking age to 21)
*States must pay part of the costs to gain federal funds
*Burdensome regulations & “red tape” (paperwork, etc.)
*Gave birth to intergovernmental lobbying for federal funds
*Unfunded mandates: rules w/o funds to implement rules (ex. ADA, Clean Water Act)
* Preemption: The right of a federal law or a regulation to preclude enforcement of a state or local law or regulation.
*New Federalism:1981 - ?
*a.k.a. pineapple upside down cake or Competitive Federalism
*Devolution: moving authority from national to state gov’ts (ex. Welfare Reform Act ‘96)
*Block Grants: larger bundles of funds for a general purpose with fewer federal restrictions & more state/local discretion
*Revenue Sharing: federal gov’t puts up a % of funds with few to no restrictions
*Downside: increased difficulty for states to fulfill their new mandate
*Where are we now?
*Supreme Court has provided some support for New Federalism
*States still tend to take federal $ when offered (ex. All states took ‘09 stimulus funds)
*Federal spending hasn’t slowed much & No Child Left Behind expanded reach of federal gov’t
*Public opinion behind past federalism phases changes and will likely guide where we go in the future (as the Founding Fathers intended)
Public Education in North Carolina