Federalism
According to most public opinion polls, many Americans believe that the federal government is too big, both in the number of agencies it directs and in the scope of its powers. Some people also think that the daily business of Capitol Hill has no effect on their lives, in part because they believe that politicianswho live and work "inside the beltway"don't understand their problems. This dissatisfaction with Washington, D.C., in recent years has renewed debate over the division of power between federal and state and local governments.
Federalismthe sharing of power between the states and the national governmenthas been a major issue throughout U.S. history. When the federal government was established by the U.S. Constitution in 1787, it only exercised limited or enumerated powers, such as making treaties and printing money. The Tenth Amendment of the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791, clarified that all other powers belonged to the states: "The 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." Over the years, in response to national crises, many of the government's powersparticularly those over social programs were centralized to the federal level. However, in recent years, an increasing number of people on Capitol Hill and across the country want to "devolve," or transfer, power from Washington, D.C., to state and local governments.
State governments are largely responsible for managing the budgets and enforcing the laws in many policy areas, such as poverty and education. Many members of Congress want the states to take on even greater authority in these areas and others, including environmental protection and crime control. Some experts believe that state governments will be able to tackle these problems more effectively and efficiently than Washington. Others, however, doubt that the federal government will provide adequate...
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