Democracy Under Pressure

1
Democracy Under Pressure

• Chapter 3
• Federalism

2
Federalism

• Federalism
• The constitutional sharing of power by a national
  government and regional units of governments
  (states, in the case of the US).
• The terms federalism and the federal system
  are used interchangeably.

3
The Pros and Cons of Federalism

• Pros
• Permits diversity and diffusion of power
• Local govt handles local problems
• More access points for political participation
• Protects individual rights against govt power
• Fosters experimentation and innovation
• Suits a large country with a diverse population

• Cons
• Makes national unity difficult achieve
• State govts 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 dominance by local special interest

4
Federalism

• Dual Federalism The conceptaccepted until
  1937of the federal government and the states as
  competing power centers, with the Supreme Court
  as referee.
• Regulatory Federalism Under this concept,
  beginning in the 1960s, the federal govt has set
  requirements for the states through federal laws
  and regulations. The federal program are then
  implemented by state and local govts.

5
Federalism

• The Federal government sends money back to the
  states in 3 types of Grants.
• Categorical money paid to state and local
  government to be used for specific purposes, such
  as Medicaid, Food stamps, education, pollution
  control, highways, conservation, and recreation.
  About 89 of grants are categorical

6
Federalism

• Block Grants money paid to state and local
  government to be used for community development,
  social services, health care, employment and
  training and education.
• General purpose Grants the smallest category,
  may be used by states and localities mostly as
  they wish.