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¶ … Balance of Power between the Federal and State Governments
The balance of power is a concept applied in the federal system to organize the government in a way that ensures there is proper division of powers between the federal, state, and local governments. America is referred to as a federal-constitutional-presidential republic because the U.S. constitution delegates specific powers to the national government, and reserves others for the state (Gerston, 2007). For a long time, the balance of power favored the states and guaranteed their independence from the national government, and also allowed them to exercise their authority to the benefit of the citizens. However, due to recent changes in economic circumstances, the balance of power has shifted in favor of the federal government; and governors and state attorney generals are constantly challenging decisions that overstep the federal government's constitutional role.
Majority of the citizens are also of the opinion that the federal government is either doing too much or not in a position to do enough for the average citizen (Welsh et al., 2012). Furthermore, recent Supreme Court decisions have issued rulings against the federal government. For instance, in Shelby County v. Holder,...
According to Gerston (2007), however, this competition for power between the different levels of government acts as a check on the concentration of power at any one level. Whenever the power tips too far on one side, there is often prompt movement to reset the balance.
Despite the fight towards state activism, the federal government should still have more power than the states if America wants to avoid a state of chaos and anarchy. Although it remains undisputed that Washington DC cannot offer solutions that work for all the states, of equal importance is the fact that public trust in local and state governments has fallen as well, and some citizens are dissatisfied with the current state activism (Welch et al., 2012). For example, in the 1990s, state governments were ineffective in running public schools and the national government had to step in to restore order in the education sector. This proves that state and local governments are not as equipped as the national government. Governors and state attorney generals are also more efficient when they concentrate on state matters because they lack the…
References
Gerston, L. N (2007). American Federalism: A Concise Introduction. New York: M. E Sharpe, Inc.
Welch, S., Gruhl, J., Rigdon, S. & Thomas, S. (2012). Understanding American Government. (13th Ed). Cengage Learning
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