Download Chapter 3: Federalism

Chapter 3: Federalism
I.
II.
Governmental structure
A. Federalist governments
1. Political system with local governmental units, in addition to national one,
that can make final decisions
2. Power is divided between the national and state/local governments and
flows both ways
3. National government largely does not govern individuals directly but gets
states to do so in keeping with national policy
4. United States, Canada, India, and Germany
B. Unitary governments
1. All power starts in the central government and flows downward
2. Centralized power
3. France, Great Britain, and Italy
C.
Confederations
1. Alliance of independent states formed for a common purpose
2. Independent states given limited power to a central authority
3. Power flows upward for the states to a central government
4. United States under the Articles of Confederation; CIS -Commonwealth
of Independent States; European Union
Federalism: Good or Bad?
A. Varying views
1. Harold Laski -> states are "poisonous and parasitic"
2. William H. Riker -> perpetuates racism
3. Daniel J. Elazar -> allows strength, flexibility, and liberty
B. Advantages
1. Creates multiple layers of government which increases the possibility of
political participation and provides greater access to the political process
a. Small political units might be dominated by single political faction
but in large republic one finds greatest opportunity for all interests
to be heard (Madison in Federalist 10)
2. Promotes innovation in the handling of complex policy questions
a. How states are currently dealing with health care costs and
insurance coverage
b. Requiring welfare recipients to work as condition of receiving
money
3. Different political groups with different political purposes come to power
in different places
4. Encourages diversity on wide range of policies in that states can develop
own positions (i.e. affirmative action, assisted suicide, gay marriage,
death penalty)
5. Offers special protection to subnational (or state & local) governments
C.
Disadvantages
1. Turns people off to government
a. Three levels of government and the number of different agencies
make the political process seem too complicated
b. Provides so many ways to participate politically that people
become apathetic
2. Creates basic inequality – some states/municipalities are wealthier which
creates a disparity in the level of public services provided
Chapter 3: Federalism
3.
III.
Strong state and local groups can obstruct and delay the implementation
of federal policy
a. Blocks progress and protects powerful local interests
b. Desegregation of public schools didn’t happen with “all deliberate
speed” because of the community opposition
Founders Ideas re: Federalism
A. Purpose of choosing federalism was to protect personal liberty
1. Founders believed that neither national nor state governments would
have authority over the other because power derives from the people,
who shift their support (each would have certain powers but neither
would have supreme authority over the other)
See Madison in Federalist 46 & Hamilton in Federalist 28
2.
3.
4.
B.
New plan had no historical precedent
Constitution does not explicitly spell out the powers of the states
Tenth Amendment was added as an afterthought to define the power of
states (reserved powers to the states)
Need for elastic language in Article I (i.e. necessary and proper clause)
1. Precise definitions of powers -- such as commerce -- politically
impossible because of competing interests
2. Hence vague language --"Congress shall have the power to make all
laws necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing
powers"
3. Opposing views
a. Hamilton: national government superior because Constitution
supreme law and its powers should be broadly defined and
liberally construed – national supremacy
b. Jefferson: states created the national government (although the
people ultimately sovereign) so powers of federal government
should be narrowly construed and strictly limited – states’ rights
c.
Madison will support Jefferson & states’ rights (see Federalist 45)
Chapter 3: Federalism
IV.
The debate on the meaning of federalism
A. McCulloch v. Maryland
1. Hamilton’s position espoused by Chief Justice John Marshall
2. Could Congress charter a national bank? (yes, because "necessary and
proper" – implies this power from other expressed powers given to
Congress)
3. Could states tax such a bank? (no, because national powers supreme)
4. Later battles
a. Federal government cannot tax state bank (changed by S. Court
in 1988)
b. Nullification doctrine
I.
States can void federal laws they deem in conflict with
Constitution
II. John C. Calhoun
III. Led to the Civil War & the South seceding from the Union
B. Dual federalism
1. Both national and state governments supreme in their own spheres
2. Hence interstate versus intrastate commerce
a. Early product-based distinction difficult
b. "Original package" also unsatisfactory
c.
Today interstate commerce is pretty much anything that affects
the stream of goods and services (a very broad interpretation)
C.
State sovereignty
1. Dual federalism is not entirely dead
2. Supreme Court limited congressional use of commerce clause, thus
protecting state sovereignty under Tenth Amendment
a. United States v. Lopez (1995) – federal government overstepped
bounds when prohibited gun in schools
b. United States v. Morrison (2000) – attacks against women do not
affect interstate commerce
3. Supreme Court has given new life to Eleventh Amendment which
protects states from lawsuits brought by citizens of other states & foreign
countries
a. Alden v. Maine (1999) state employees couldn’t sue to force
compliance with federal labor laws
4. Not all recent Supreme Court decisions support greater state sovereignty
5. New debate resurrects notion of state police powers
a. Laws that promote health, safety & morals
6. Many state constitutions open door to direct democracy through initiative,
referendum, and recall
a. Initiative allows voters to place legislative measures directly on the
ballot by getting enough signatures
b. Referendum is a procedure that enables voters to reject a
measure already adopted by the state legislature
c.
Recall allows voters to remove an elected official from office
before their term is up
7. Existence of states guaranteed while local governments exist at pleasure
of states
Chapter 3: Federalism
V.
Fiscal federalism – the flow of money as a key component to federal-state relations
A. Grants show how political realities modify legal authority
1. Began before the Constitution with "land grant colleges," various cash
grants to states
2. Dramatically increased in scope in the twentieth century
3. Were attractive to states for various reasons
a. Federal budget surpluses through the nineteenth century made
the money available
b. Federal income tax provided more money when economic activity
and personal income grew
c.
Federal control of money supply meant national government could
print more money and not have to pay it back since borrowed from
itself
d. "Free" money for state officials because states not paying
(although state citizens as federal taxpayers were paying)
4. Required broad congressional coalitions
5. 1960’s shift from what states demanded/needed to what federal officials
thought were important national needs
6. By 1980 grants stopped growing
7. Intergovernmental lobbies
a. Cities and states have organized like special interest groups to
press their programs and needs before Congress and the
executive branch
b. National Governors’ Conference, Council of State Governments,
National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors
B. Revenue sharing
1. (General) revenue sharing -- Nixon
a. Requires no matching funds and provides freedom in how to
spend (few if any restrictions on spending)
b. Distributed by statistical formula
c.
Ended in 1986
2. Block grants (special revenue sharing) -- Reagan
a. Devoted to general purposes like health care, crime prevention or
community development
b. Since few restrictions gave states more freedom and power
3. In reality neither achieved the goal of giving states more freedom in
spending
a. Money available in form of block grants grew more slowly than
categorical grants
b. More strings added as desire for more federal control and distrust
of state government
c.
No single interest group has a vital stake in multipurpose block
grants or revenue sharing
C.
Categorical grants
1. Given for specific purposes and often require local matching funds
2. Carry numerous limitations called conditions of aid
a. Tell a state government what it must do to obtain grant money
b. Can be used to force a state to adopt a policy it might be reluctant
to
Chapter 3: Federalism
VI.
I.
Lower speed limit to 55mph or no federal highway funds
II. Raise drinking age to 21 or no federal highway funds
c.
Civil rights generally the focus of most important conditions in the
1960's, a proliferation has continued since the 1970's
d. Conditions range from specific to general
3. Received by states voluntarily, in theory, but reality is that states are
financially dependent on federal funds
a. Divergent views of states and federal government on costs,
benefits
b. States respond by experimenting with new ways of delivering
services (i.e. child care, welfare, education)
4. Includes project grants & formula grants
a. Project grants are made on the basis of a competitive application
process
b. Formula grants use a formula or calculation to determine how the
available funds are distributed
5. Most federal funding continues to come through categorical grants
6. Matters of life or death for various state/local agencies
D.
Rivalry among the states created by grant programs
1. Increased competition a result of increased dependency on federal
money
2. Snowbelt /Frostbelt versus Sunbelt states as dubbed by the media
3. Difficulty telling where funds spent
4. Difficulty connecting funds to growth rates
5. Focus on formulas makes census take on monumental importance
Federal control through use of federal aid
A. Introduction
1. Fear of "Washington control" and jeopardy of Tenth Amendment
because of strings attached to federal money
2. Failed attempt at a reversal in this trend (block grants and revenue
sharing)
3. Traditional and newer forms of federal controls on state governmental
actions
a. Conditions of aid tell a state government what it must do to obtain
grant money
b. Mandates tell state governments what to do, in some instances
even when they do not receive grant money
B. Mandates
1. Law, regulation or court decision that compels a state/local government
to take an action under the threat of legal action or loss/reduction of
federal funding
a. Regulatory statutes and amendments of previous legislation
b. New areas of federal involvement
c.
Considerable variation in clarity, administration, and costs
2. Financial burden -- all or in part -- rests on state/local governments
(unfunded mandates)
3. Most concern civil rights and environmental protection
a. Americans with Disabilities Act (1990)
b. Clean Air & Water Acts
Chapter 3: Federalism
4.
c.
No Child Left Behind
Growth in mandates from 1981 to 1991 helped by federal courts
a. Interpretations of the Tenth Amendment have eased flow of
mandates
b. Court orders and prisons, school desegregation, busing, hiring
practices, police brutality
Chapter 3: Federalism
VII.
A devolution revolution?
A. Renewed effort to shift important functions to states by Republican-controlled
Congress in 1994
1. Key issue was welfare (i.e., the AFDC program)
2. Clinton signs bill that gives management to the states which institute
work requirements
B. These and other turn-back efforts were referred to as devolution
1. Old idea, but led by Congress instead of the president this time
2. Republicans tried to change AFDC & Medicaid block grants into
entitlements
a. Successful with AFDC & other programs but not Medicaid
b. Possible triggering of second-order devolution -- flow of power
and responsibility from the states to local governments
c.
Possible triggering of third-order devolution -- increased role of
nonprofits and private groups
d. Dramatic decrease in welfare rolls increase in unspent dollars
e. Surpluses and Medicaid costs, shortfalls in state revenues and
funding surges
C.
What's driving devolution?
1. Beliefs of devolution proponents
a. Governments closer to the people are more responsive to popular
sentiment and can better control waste
b. Time for state governments to figure out how to handle social
problems
2. Realities of budget deficit – to reduce federal deficit need to cut
entitlement spending, but if going to push onto the states, then you need
to give them flexibility to deal with it
3. Citizens like devolution in principle but not so much when it leads to
cutting specific programs
D.
Congress and federalism: nation far from wholly centralized
1. Members of Congress still local representatives; not representatives of
Washington/national government
2. Members of Congress represent different constituencies from the same
localities (how they view their constituencies varies)
3. Link to local political groups eroded
4. Differences of opinion over which level of government works best