Government in America_1

Government in America_1

1. Federalism

   • The division of powers and responsiblities among different levels of government
   • Disadvantages
     • Relying on states to supply public services.
     • Local interests able to thwart national majority support of certain policies
     • Sheer number of governments make it difficult to figure out which governments are doing what.
     • Discourage states from providing services that would otherwise be available
   • Advantages
     • More opportunities for participation in politics
     • Increasing access to government for different citizen and interest groups.
     • Different economic interests are concentrated in different states
     • Peaceful transfer of power is more probable
   • Federalism would help decentralize the political system since there was fears that a powerful and central government would tyrannize the states.

2. Constitutional Basis

   • Division of Power
     • Supremacy Clause
       • A clause that states that the Constitution, laws of the national government, and treaties are the supreme law of the land.
     • Tenth Amendment
       • The amendment states that powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people
     • The powers of state and national governments are carefully defined in the Constitution. States are guaranteed equal representation in the Senate, are responsible for elections, and cannot be abolished
   • National Supremacy
     • Implied Powers & McCulloch
       • The national government has certain implied powers that go beyond its emumerated powers.
     • Commerce Powers & Gibbons
       • The Constituion gives Congress the power to regulate interstate and international commerce.

3. Intergovernmental Relations

   • Dual Federalism
     • A political arrangement in which power is divided between national and state governments where state governments exercise those powers accorded to them without interference from the national government.
   • Cooperative Federalism
     • A concept of federalism in which national, state and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems.
   • Fiscal Federalism
     • Pattern of spending, taxing, and providing grants in the federal system.
   • Grants
     • Categorical Grants: Grants which may be spent only for narrowly-defined purposes.
     • Project Grants: Grants given to a specific project already approved in all merits.
     • Formula Grants: Grants specifying a precise formula in the legislation creating the program
     • Block Grants: A large sum of money granted by the national government to a regional government with only general provisions as to the way it is to be spent.
   • Madates
     • Requirements that direct states of local governments to comply with federal rules under threat of penalties or as a condition of receipt of a federal grant