The structure that worked

Federalism

*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