Leaving policy issues to the states
Leaving policy issues to the states has several advantages as well as disadvantages. The first advantage of this act is concerned with the laboratories of democracy. This means that leaving policy issues to the states increases their level of innovation and their ability to solve major problems by themselves. The second advantage is the fact that through this action, the notion of the state becomes closer to the people. The leaders become more accountable to their people because they understand them better. As far as the disadvantages of leaving policy issue to the states are concerned, there is the inequality between different states as some are rich while others are poor. The poor cannot deal with some issues appropriately as it is the case with well-established states. Secondly, it leads to a lack of protection to minority groups. Leaving policy issue to the state government, thus interferes with the uniformity maintained in the case of the federal government. In my opinion, essential policies such as education, health care and security should be managed by the federal government. In contrast, easily manageable issues such as abortion should be left to the states. This is because these issues are evident in all states, while things like abortion and dropping out of schools are not in all states.
Response 4
The constitution gives a certain degree of power to the president. Some of the powers assigned to the president by the constitution include the power to sign or veto legislation, ask for an opinion from the cabinet, command the armed forces and grant reprieves and pardons to mention a few. The power of the president has remarkably changed since the establishment of the constitution because the constitution allows the president to take an issue that is bound by the constitution for legislation and upon approval by at least two-thirds of the state legislatures it can be enacted. In other situations, the president is allowed to make laws that are helpful to a nation even though they are not included in the constitution. For example, during this time of COVID-19 pandemic, the president can make any rule meant to address the disease because it is within his or her powers. A modern president relies on a number of powers but most importantly, those in the constitution. Whatever power that the president might need is either provided or directed by the constitution.
Discussion
Federalism which combines the central/federal government with the local or regional governments is a very important aspect in dealing with whatever issue that faces a country. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across nations, interfering with people’s normal ways of living and most disturbingly claiming lives of many people day in day out, there is need for coordinated disease response strategies involving both the federal and local governments. Even though both federal and state government should ensure maximum participation in federalism, I think that the federal government and not the states should take the lead in federalism. This is because as Matthew Yglesias says “…the federal government has unique resources and flexibility, as well as the ability to move things from one part of the country to another to ensure that capabilities are deployed where they are most needed”. With this ability of resources, it can coordinate every activity in a country to ensure a smooth flow of things as well as adequately addressing issues such as the coronavirus pandemic. To achieve this, it is upon the president to dictate what should be done as the leader of the nation. Wrong leadership evades this role by the federal government, leaving all the weight on the regional government, which should be dependent on the federal government. This can be evidenced by one of President Trump’s tweets which read “…the federal government is nothing more than a “backup” for the states and not a first-line crisis responder” (Yglesias). With this presidential perspective, it becomes difficult to address life-threatening issues such as the COVID-19 appropriately. The United States’ federal system is by far able to confront the coronavirus. As a superpower, it has the available resources needed to deal with this pandemic. It only requires a combination of the federal government and the states with leadership that appreciates the role of the central government as the leader in federalism.
Works Cited
Yglesias, Matthew. “America Has No Federal Response to This Crisis.” Vox, 3 Apr. 2020, www.vox.com/2020/4/3/21204489/coronavirus-response-chris-murphy.