Monday, October 1, 2012
Federalism
"Federalism is no longer necessary. As a result most important issues are either national or global in scope. The U.S. would be better off if the states served as administrative districts only as is the case in a unitary government."
Assess the validity of these statements. How would your life be different if we had a unitary system? Be specific.
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In my opinion, I believe Federalism is undeniably necessary for the U.S.. States serving as administrative districts would neglect what the Founding Fathers planned to establish which was a strong, representative government that would protect people's liberties along with t here being no risk of tyrannic rule. I think that if states served as administrative districts, the national government would be given too much power. Therefore, decisions may be based upon those officials in Congress and less based upon the ordinary mam's. If a unitary system were to fully exist, laws would become biased and universal (within the U.S.). Federalism allows the freedom of the states decisions. In addition, the United States is far too big for on single government to make the decisions. With such differences present in the United States, a single rule would cause (in my opinion) the people to be oppressed. If we did have a unitary system, certain laws may or may not be applied to me. College tuition may be different since there are many state universities and federal funds towards the states may be different which would have the potential to create more or less public programs planned to help people.
I believe federalism is necessary in the United States. It is the fourth largest country in the world. That being said, there are various regions through out the country. The regions vary imensly. If there was no federalism, places with very little in common would have to follow the same laws. Laws in one place may be unecessary or even disruptive in other places. The ability for state governments to have a role in the policies of their state allows them to do things on the basis of local need.
If there was no federalism, my life would be different. The driving age could be lower, if the national government decided to go with the same policy that states other than New York had. The school system would be completely uniform so the need of extra standardized tests such as the SAT and the ACT would be obsolete.
I agree with Mike Ferrari because if a national government was the sole source of power it could be tyranical. There would be no flexability within the laws. The minority would be opressed because there would be no local government to fulfill there needs.
I believe that Federalism is utterly necessary for America to be the country that it is today. The Founding Fathers created the Constitution because they believed in a separation of powers between the state and national government, in addition to protecting personal liberties and hindering the chances of another monarchy/tyranny. The separation of powers enables states to cater to their own unique population of people. People also feel closer to the government when there are local and state politicians whom they elect, rather than a couple of people in charge at the head of the nation, like a Unitary system. Federalism also encourages political participation and activity.
In all honesty, in such a large and diverse nation such as the U.S., there are too many factions for all laws to be under a uniformed national policy. The Constitutional allows for diversity through liberties. If states lost their authority within the government, citizens would not be properly represented in the national government. It is better that there are local and state politicians to over see, help and manage their own neighbors rather than a distant single head of government.
My life would be different because there would be more standardized testing to assess students. There would be one uniformed national policy for all states. Many important things in my own neighborhood and city would probably be looked over. In my opinion, a Unitary system of government is too similar to a tyranny and that is not what America is about.
I agree with Mike Ferrari that Federalism is necessary in the United States. Decisions such as college tuition of states and city schools would not differ within states, which may make it difficult for most people to pay the tuitions. Furthermore public programs would not be endorsed to aid people and their needs. Moreover, i also agree that the country is way to big to be based on a single government to make a decision.
I think this statement is false. Federalism in the United states is 100% necessary. Although some important issues maybe national in scope, there are still issues that need to be fixed in each state that the national government may overlook as unimportant. If the national government made all the laws they would make laws in only their interests and would not allow for different states views to alter their laws. For example, if a minority amount of states did not want a law to be passed with a unitary system the law would still be passed and even the minority states would have to follow it. However, with federalism, that law wouldnt have to be past in the states that did not want it. Federalism also guards the liberties given to the people of the United States in the Bill of Rights. Without federalism, the unitary government may take away some of these liberties named.
If the United States didnt have federalism may life would probably be different in the sense of driving. For example, i may be able to drive at an earlier age being that states like Mississippi need kids to be driving earlier being that there is a lack of public transportation and also because there are great distances between each house.
I agree with Anam because our education need would be different in a unitary system. There would be more standardized testing in schools as well as tuition for colleges would be regulated among the whole United States
In my my opinion, in such a large and diverse nation, federalism is needed to maintain control of the nation and provide for the needs of different people in different areas. That being said, each state and locality needs to make their own decisions and laws in order to keep democracy alive and their residents free and safe. With the national government attempting to solve all of the nation's problems, it would be terribly slow in making solutions for local problems. The central,unitary government would be out of touch with its citizens, so that they would suffer. In the federalist government that the United States is under now, local politicians attempt to solve local problems,while the national government solves problems affecting the nation in total, allowing important issues to be addressed more efficiently. Although I agree with the quote that problems are on a much larger scale now than they were when the US was formed due to interdependence among states, people in the West still have different needs and a different mentality than people in the South. However, with different people living in different terrains around the US, under a unitary system, they would all have to abide by the same laws. For example, the unitary government would either allow all citizens,everywhere in the US, to carry firearms, or prohibit firearms everywhere instead. In terms of my life, in New York, I cannot carry a firearm and need a license to own one. It would be much too dangerous for everybody to carry firearms in New York City, if the unitary government had allowed it to be legal in such a crowded city, and the crime rate would increase dramatically.Our lives would be completely different here as a result.Maybe our school would have a metal detector. On the other hand, if firearms were made illegal, residents living in the middle of the woods in South Carolina would not be able to protect themselves from wild animals. One law made by a unitary government would not apply well for every state.
I completely agree with Tom Hutton, because as I said earlier, the geography of our nation is too varied for one government to make laws for it. However, I disagree about the fact that standardized tests would become obsolete. If there were a unitary system, students all around the US would be learning by the same curriculum. Therefore, standardized tests would be more fair and make it easier for colleges and universities to compare students.
With a vast population (311,591,917 Americans to be exact), federalism is not a want, but a necessity for the success, unification and future of our nation. Federalism is the separation of power between state and federal governments. This separation of power was intended to prevent one certain aspect of the government from gaining too much power. Some founding fathers believed creating a strong, central government where the federal government had all the power was too parallel to a tyranical system. It was in their best intentions to spread the power around.
Federalism tailors to the specific needs of each locale. It establishes law specific to a dinstinct region. For example, as previously mentioned, the driving age in NYC differs than the driving age in North Dakota because driving in N.D. is a requirement, and there is a vast system of public transportation here in NYC. Some counties, particularly townships in NJ, do not require the establishment of streelights to illuminate their roads and highways. However, in NYC, if one of the streetlights malfunctioned, 311 can be called right away to fix the problem.
The United States would not be better off if the states served as adminsitrative districts to a unitary government. In an Unitary system, the federal government holds all of the power. It would regulate all of the states' activities. The states would have little or no power. America cannot be run effectively based on one unifying law code. This code would actually be a disunifying force. As I already stated, laws the work in Idaho will not work in New York. The orange farmer in Florida and computer engineer in the Sillicon Valley need distinct sets of law to function properly.
Federalism allows for a closer bond between local politicans and citizens. This allows for a more accurate representation. This closeness is absent in an unitary system. My life would be different if there was an unitary system present in America. My friends in California, Alaska, Rhode Island, and I would be learning the same exact subjects in school. I imagine standerdized testing would plague the country. Traffic lights/signs/symbols would be consistent state to state. The same set of rules that are found in a LA highschool would be found in THS. Perhaps certain color shirts would be banned due to gang affiliation. Police cars in every state would be identical. Taxes would be consistent throughtout the country. There wouldn't be a need to travel to NJ anymore to purchase goods and services at a lower price.
In conclusion, Federalism will continue to be necessary for the future of our great country.
I believe the statement is false and that Federalism is necessary in the United States. If America adopted a unitary system, the individual issues and interests of the states wouldn't be resolved. Since America has such a vast and diverse population, Federalism allows each state to enforce its own policies specific to it's citizens' need.
My life would be different under a unitary system because my education would be the same as every other American student. In New York City, business is a major area and for students in upstate New York where they tend to farms, learning about business wouldn't really suit their needs.
I agree with Chris because Federalism is able to please the diverse interests of the American population.
I believe that Federalism is essential in the governing system of the United States for numerous reasons. Firstly, even if most of the United States problems are on a global scale, rather than a domestic scale, as compared to when the Constitution first introduced federalism in 1787, the United States still needs to focus on domestic matters such as the economy, internal improvements and increasing unemployment rates.By removing federalism, the government would be removing states from the matter and focusing only on the nation as a whole,thus increasing domestic problems.By removing local governments, the American government would be furthering itself from the people and thus would not be able to judge how to react to a problem, whether domestic or globally. Additionally,the federal government only exists because the people allow it to. By taking away local governments and thus taking away local interests, the government has taken power outside its authority. Furthermore, People make up the states, and states, accordingly, make up the United States of America. By removing the state governments authority and creating a single central or national government, one would be stripping the individual states of their rights, and thus stripping the citizens of America, as a whole, of their rights. The nation is made up of too diverse of a people for the national government to take each interest group's wants into account. Numerous religions, economic classes, social classes, regions, and traditions make it impossible for a people in Texas, for instance, to comply with a national government decision that benefits New York.Furthermore, there would be no system of order. Since local governments serve as a direct voice of the people to a higher form of government, the local form of government reports social and regional issues. For instance, a local official might report that unemployment is especially high in their specific state, or that a highway needs to be rebuilt or that a new school building needs to be built to accommodate the growing population. Without these local officials the state's pleas would go unnoticed and Americans would suffer greatly.
The introduction of a unitary government into America would have a huge effect on my life. Firstly, many of the laws that apply specifically to New York might be overturned to fit federal regulations. School buildings and school curriculum can be changed completely to fit the federal image of education. Controversial topics such as abortion, or legalization of marijuana would cause nation-wide chaos, with some states refusing to accept marijuana and abortion, while some states refuse to give up marijuana or abortion. Additionally, local aspects of life that have become mundane to me may be changed for the sake of federal conformity. For instance, if the new unitary government were to enact major agricultural policies and spend much of its budget on such reforms, major cities such as Chicago or New York will thus be deprived of necessary funds that would normally go to public programs.
I agree with Tom Hutton in stating that some policies that may seem beneficial as a whole may seem disruptive on a local level, especially to differing regions of the United States.I also agree that without a system of federalism, the nations leader might become tyrannical because too much power was placed in his/her hands.
In my opinion, i believe the federalism is absolutely necessary for the United States. This is because our country has a vast population with people who have different necessities for their daily life. For example, in a largely populated state such as New York, transportation is easy to come by rendering a driver's license at the age of sixteen highly unnecessary. However in a less populated state such as Lousiana, transportation may not be so easy to come by meaning people would have to get their license at an earlier age. Every state ought to have it's own individual government where laws are made to accomodate the people within it's region. Federalism enables for the government to ensure that the needs of individuals are met to the up most satisfaction. A unitary form of government would limit the states of the United States to follow the same laws regardless of the different conditions in each state. The result would be chaotic for some laws may prove to be beneficial to one state while harmful to another.
I agree with tottenvilleblogger about how federalism is a need rather than a want. A separation of powers enables the government to run sufficiently, meeting each states standards as to what the laws ought to consist of.
Federalism is necessary in the United States. Separation of power is needed to keep up with individual necessities within each state. If America was to establish a unitary system, the individual issues of the states would not be resolved. Laws are also created for the people. Not every state would be able accommodate the peoples necessities under the same laws and regulations. Without Federalism, my education would have to change. Everyone would need to learn the same material and take the same exams. That may increase competition in applying for colleges and college tuitions would be changed. I agree with Julian’s statement. He makes a good point why a unitary system would not work well among states.
I believe that Federalism is still necessary because each state is unique and each states has uniques people and conditions and it needs a state government that can take care of certain needs. Without a federalist government the people would be powerless. Also different states have different beliefs so to speak. Some states support gay marriage others don't, some support abortions and medicinal marijuana while others don't. If the US was a unitary government many things could be different which would effect the lives of people in certain states. For example, if we were a unitary government and the government decided to make the driving age 18 for all states it would be harder for those who live in places like Michigan, or Illinois other southern states because they don't have greta public transportation and everything is s[aced out there fore it would make it harder for teens to get to places when they are younger.Certain states need certain issues to be dealt with in different ways and to make a the government centralized would have many negative effects.
I agree with TottenvilleBlogger12, because with such a vast population of people of many cultures and backgrounds one government could not satisfy the needs of people nor could it be able to provide certain services that might only be needed for that specific state.
Federalism has been a part of the United States since the Constitution was drafted over 200 years ago. It has had its problems, but it has made us a strong nation. We need the seperation of national and state government. States make important decisions. Since they are closer to the people, they can make judgements for the good of the people. A unitary government is just not American. The states would have less say and the federal government would have full control. However, the federal government only knows about the people based on statistics and ideas, not on a personal level.
If we had a unitary system, my life would have major issues. This means my life would be the same as a seventeen year old in Tennesee. Clearly, we have many different needs. As Anam mentioned, education would be very different. There would be a lot more standardized testing. In addition, many things left up to the state would be universal. For instance, the driving age would be the same in all fifty states.
This statement is completely wrong. The United States wouldn't be the same as it as today whatsoever and it was not made to be that way. If the states were only administrative districts, they would have much less power and no one would be happy with this. With a unitary system, every state would have to abide by the same laws and that wouldn't work in a country where the states are in very diverse locations, making it so that each state has very different needs. Even without considering location, different states believe in different laws. This would cause states not to be properly represented and the people to be unhappy. The unitary system would cause everyone to have the same education when needs are all different. For example, someone in maybe Idaho learns about farming, while in New York we learn business techniques. Everyone would either learn one or the other. Every state would have the same age for driving as well, which wouldn't work for states who let kids drive younger because they need that means of transportation.
I agree with Anam because as I stated earlier, the United States is very diverse and we all have different needs.
I believe federalism is necessary for the united state because the united states is so big and has such a diverse amount of religions and ethnicities. If the government were to be under a unitarty system the government can not appease everyone. A state like New York might need a higher drinking age and driving age then a state like Kentucky because New York is the 3rd most populous, and the 7th most densely populated of the 50 United States. This meaning there will be alot of cars everywhere so you are more prone to get into a car accident then say a state like Kentucky
My life would be different under a unitary system because all of united states would have to learn the same things and their would be alot more standardized testing. Also in New York the education would focus around business where the southern state might not need business.
I agree with Brian because Federalism is able to please the diverse interests of the American population.
I believe that federalism is needed in the government. Federalism was based on the need to protect people from tyranny and if states are not being cared for, the people would be exploited. People need to have a say in government and so local and state governments need to hear what its people have to say. Ultimately, the national government will listen to state governments and thus people would have a say in the government. If each state had to follow the same rights without having a say in changing them, chaos would erupt and cause even more problems.
I agree with MT102795 that the united states that if the government were to be under a unitary system it would not be able to appease everyone.
I believe federalism cannot be destroyed because it is vital to the survival of the democracy of the United States. Having a unitary system would completely defy the Constitution and its intention to preserve personal liberties. Although there is federal supremacy at the moment, there are still remnants of dual federalism and separation of the state and federal governments- remnants which are crucial to the protection of people's rights.
The benefits of having local governments having power in the government allows for different cities' desires to be fulfilled, such as the driving age and gay marriage. If state governments were denied any power, the voices of the people would be muffled and no democracy would prevail. The central government would not only rule over the entire country, but rule ineffectively because it cannot tend to everyone's needs as well as the local governments can.
In a unitary system, my life would be different because the government would be regulating daily activities: the price of bus fare, the marriage age/legal gay marriage, the driving age, the prices of gas, and taxes on clothing and other luxuries. The government would not be considering the localities of a single city or county, but would be making decisions based on the United States of a whole, minimizing American voices and democracy through a domineering central government.
In my opinion, a centralized government would not be a great thing to cherish or to uphold much so how a disorganized government would not be ideal. Both are on two polar opposites of each other and only a right mix of state and national power can affirm the stability of the nation. If our life was completely decided by the states a particular state can enact whichever edict they feel they need, without any governmental intervention. Likewise, if completely ruled by a national government, local issues which impact us greatly are overlooked in the grand scheme of things and we jut become a conglomeration of individuals rather than single entities. It would be something akin to the Soviet Union, where quotas are imposed regardless of knowledge into that region's stability or capability. Also, the whole country would be focused on one goal, be it war or economic improvement, rather than trying to deal with situations at hand like state governments can do such as roads, environmental issues, etc.
Federalism is necessary in the United States. although problems are definitely on a larger scale these days, federalism is necessary to keep things together within the nation while problems are occurring outside as well. Federalism not only protects states' rights, but offers the government a division of labor. This leaves the national government to deal with primary public affairs and society's many secondary affairs to lower levels of government. In addition, the nation is too vast and diverse for all states to be governed exactly the same way. Different parts of the country need to be educated differently; some parts of the country may need specific laws enforced that are not necessary in other states. For example, in New York, citizens need a license to cary fire arms. This is not the case in all states. If a unitary government were put into effect and firearms were made to be unregulated in New York, the crime rate would increase and the effects would be disastrous. Also, if the driving age was changed to 17 for all states, people in states with less public transportation would struggle in there day to day movement, since towns are more spread out in states such as Michigan. Each state has its own needs and a unitary government simply would not cater to each part of the nation. Federalisms is required for a division of labor, protection of states' rights, and to unite a diverse nation without ignoring the states' individual needs.
I agree with Tom Hutton. Taking the size of America into consideration and it's diversity completely falsifies the statement that federalism is no longer necessary. Federalism is what makes this country strong, and what enables it's citizens to have liberty, diversity, and a say in the politics of their country. A distant government does not know what is best in certain neighborhoods, cities, or states, local and state politicians do, because they are actually present.
Federalism allows the freedom of the states decisions. However, if states served as administrative districts, the national government would be given too much power. the United States is too large and diverse, like Julian Mentioned, for a single government to make universal decisions. With such differences present in the country, a single tyrannical-like rule would cause oppression, and there would be no flexibility or compromises to accommodate the citizens’ needs; if states lost their authority within the government, citizens would not be properly represented.
Without Federalism, my education would definitely change because there would be one uniformed national policy for all states. The level of difficulty will change because all students throughout the country will take the same standardized test; therefore, our performance in school would be inaccurately compared to those of other students in the North, East, South, or West part of the country.
I agree with Brianna Fellner; we do need separation of national and state government. Without the state’s power, the people will not be represented properly because the federal government has merely statistical facts about the people in the country.
Federalism is definitely not outdated, as stated, especially since the structure of the United States has remained the same. While it is necessary to have a unified central government, the people of each state have their own specific needs. If America was ran as a unitary system of government, democracy would be weakened since one government would control such a large amount of people who have different needs. One central government would not be able to address all the needs as well as local governments would. For example, the needs of people in New York are completely different from those in California. Even the needs of people from city to city vary. My life would change from a unitary system of government in that I would be learning the same things in school as the rest of the country, along with having to meet the same standards as the rest the students in the country. In addition, the government would unionize the legal age of driving, the legal age of consent, as well as requirements needed for graduating high school. Also, since many students depend on state loans for college tuition, in a unitary government, they may not receive any type of loans from the government due to the vast population of students.
I agree with hmanz1995 in that a unitary form of government may result in chaos in the country. One mandatory law may help some states, but harm others as well due to varying interests.
******[Changed my username from TottenvilleBlogger12)
I absolutely agree with Julian. "Although I agree with the quote that problems are on a much larger scale now than they were when the US was formed due to interdependence among states, people in the West still have different needs and a different mentality than people in the South." Interdependence has led to a more connected country (and world). Problems that have once been domestic now plague the whole country. However, I believe that a unitary system would not solve these problems effectively. Federalism is definitely the way to go.
Julian also brought up an excellent point on gun laws. It would not be feasible for everyone in NYC to carry guns. Under a unitary system, guns would either be easy to get everywhere, or hard to acquire (or even illegal). Some of our folk north of the 48 contagious states need guns to protect themselves against undomesticated animals that are willing to attack them.
Federalism is a classic America political concept. To be anti-federalist is to be anti-American.
I believe that the United States needs federalism to function because it is so large and the states are all very different. The division between national and state governments allows a balance to exist and for states to be heard. Therefore, the statements are invalid. A unitary government would not allow the states to have a say and would cause chaos in the country. Taking away local governments would also decrease our rights and the people would not have a say in the government. Everything would be unionized and America would lose its diversity as well.
I also agree with Julian. If we were to have a unitary government, then the decision and law making process would be awfully slow because the national government would have to care of all problems, even the minor ones. America is too large and pleasing each state would be highly problematic. The needs of the citizens of New York City are completely different than the needs of someone in Kansas CIty or New Orleans for example.
EVentually the government would become tyrannical and it would be an overall disaster. A unitary government would not benefit the United States in any way, but simply harm us.
Although most problems seem to be on a national or global scale, there are still problems within the nation on a smaller level that need to be tended to. If all the power was centralized as in a unitary system, local problems within the states would sky rocket because those in the central government are not attentive or aware to the problems that exist within the states. I believe that they would just generalize all situations and all states, and therefore the specific needs would not be properly taken care of. I agree with Brianna in that the states need to be attentive to its people because it will make good judgments for the good of the people because they are closer to them and more aware of their problems. Also, those who are trying to get elected at the state level will target specific problems the people of that certain state have, because a problem that exists in New York might not be the same problem Utah is facing. Federalism allows the state governments to be more intuitive to the states and local governments. Plus, when a piece of the government is focusing on the people and their needs, the other part had more time and money to focus on foreign affairs.
If we had a unitary governmental system, I believe my life would be completely different. For one, the government would not be in touch with the problems of New York, such as the education system or transportation methods because this may not be an issue that affects a majority of states. That being said, I believe the condition of the state would in very bad shape, such as the graduation rate and the condition of roads. I also don’t believe that the government would last long because as the founding fathers stated, “no government could long subsist without the confidence of the people.” And if the people are being neglected for foreign affairs, confidence in the government will be at an all time low.
In my opinion federalism is needed in the government. Federalism allows each state to enforce its own policies to please the need of their citizens. For example if a state needs a certain law another state does not need the same law. A unitary government would take away the rights of states to make decisions thus the country would fall apart.
My life would be different under a unitary system because driving age would be different since certain states needs to drive at a young age. My school life would also be different because schools in new orleans do not need the same schooling as me in new york
I agree with Brian because Federalism is able to please the diverse interests of the American population.
I think Federalism is necessary for the United States government. Federalism establishes a separation of powers between the state the national government, and therefore the people of the United States have two means of political power. If America were to adopt the unitary system of government, there would only be one centralized power which would be the supreme power of the land. This system would not work, because the United States is far too large to have one large centralized power that could provide for the needs of every district of the nation. Life in a unitary system would be far different from what it is today. For instance, the separate states would not have power to give specialized attention to the needs of the smaller regions. Education (as Anam previously stated)would be different since the entire nation would be under one education system that does not focus on the individuals as much. Also, taxes would be the same throughout the nation, and there would be no distinct laws for each region of America. This simply would not work out in the United States.
I think that federalism is still important for the government. Federalism allows the government to know better of all the problems within the country.It also, divides the poweres of the states, and the national government which, makes it stronger. Even though, there are alot of national, and global in scope problems; there are still alot of problems within our country. I think my life is going to be totally different in a Unitary system. There won't be as much care for the problems within the country, and the government won't be in touch with the problems within the smaller states. The national, and global problems will be solved but, those within the U.S. won't even be known of.
I agree with Tom Hutton. The geography of the nation is much too diversified for a unitary government to work. Enforcing the same laws and policies upon such different regions of the nation would be ineffective. Federalism allows for local needs to be taken into account, creating an overall safer and more effective government. I also agree with Michael Ferrari in that if the national government was the sole source of power, it may become a tyrannical force. Federalism is vital to the US if it wishes to remain a just representative democracy.
I personally beleive that federalism is one thing that unites our country today because if all the states were left to make their own decisions then it would be chaos. But at the same time the central government can make laws that are unfit to certain states, more over that would be undemocratic .
The idea behind federalism is that the state and central governments know their exact roles, thus acts as a system of checks and balances. Making sure that absoulte power doesnt fall under one government .
The state governments can solve internal problems where as the central government should have other roles like dealing with foreign affairs and distributing the federal tax as needed . After all both the governments are seeking the wellfare of one country
I agree with julian that not each law would be suitable to every state, some of these laws can be dangerous to some states.
In my opinion, i feel that Federalism is a key part of a government that will wok properly in the United States. The U.S. needs a Federalism as a basis for their rulings. The U.S. NEEDS power to be able to make any changes or make any rulings to better the government and the people. Without Federalism, every union, state and city would all have different rulings, canceling out a uniform government. I feel that the government and the country is way too big for there to be just one ruling government. i feel that there should be some lead way and some levels of ruling so that things can run smoothly in both the states and the national government. Each level should have an amount of ruling and power they can have so no level or group can get too powerful. Also, in order to keep democracy alive, the people need to be able to make some decisions on their own while still having some guidance from the government figures.
If there was a unitary system i feel that there would be many changes being made to the kids lives, Such as driving age and also the education systems. Education lessons would be cut back on due to discrimination, ethnicity or gender. Also driving would be made to a higher age to make less accidents.
Federalism is still necessary in the United States. Our country is vast, and the conditions and beliefs vary dramatically form one part of America to another.
In the Northeastern U.S., there are more and larger cities than in Colorado. Therefore the laws in these areas should differ. For example, driving age may be lower in the more rural areas because it will be more difficult to travel without a car there. IN the city, tighter gun control would be appropriate than in a rural area because much more damage can be done by a gunman in a highly populated area.
The people’s political views and morals differ from region to region and should be represented accordingly. Though one region’s view may be less successful or wise than the other views, it should still be represented. If it is not, people in that region will feel that they have no say in government. If this happens the people may give up and stop paying attention to politics, opening the door for governmental abuses of power, or try to change it through protesting or succession, which would weaken the national government’s power significantly and make other states more like to threaten to succeed.
Many issues are of a national scale today. This has been used to argue for a unitary government. I do not agree. The national scale of problems requires a national government. It does not, however, mean that there are not make local issues make federalism unnecessary. Federalism, having both federal and local government, can deal with both national and local issues, making it better than a unitary system.
I agree with Julian. I agree that some laws may be beneficial in one area and detrimental in another, which makes unitary systems problematic.
I agree with Tom Hutton. The United States is way too big to be under one rule. The diversity within the United States cannot be unified under one single rule that grants equality to everyone. It is not possible to unite such a large nation with a unitary rule and risk of tyranny.
Federalism is necessary because our country is extremely large and one national system would create problems in specific areas and not be as uniform as it would be in a smaller nation. States in different regions need different attention based on sized and demographics, and in a federal system it would all be equal and not as effective as it is now.I agree with Julian because each state needs specific attention and is there are certain things that should be left up to them.
I disagree with these statements. Federalism is absolutely necessary, especially in a government that is democratic. If we were to live in a unitary system, nothing would get done. Of course, the national government would be taking care of things such as education, health, sanitation, etc., but they would only be able to do so much. They would not be able to focus on states' problems individually, and the laws and regulations that they would create would leave at least one state unsatisfied. For example, gay marriage is only legalized in a few states. If the national government were to just to make it illegal in every state, this will cause problems with the states who want to legalize it. A federal government would not allow for this to happen, because it would be the state's decision on whether or not they want gay marriage to be legal.
I agree with Victoria S, that our rights would become limited. In a federal government, states are more free to decide on what is better for their own individual state. In a unitary system, however, that's not the case.
If we had a unitary system, life would be different because the laws that are set in New York are pretty specific, and would not exist under a unitary system. For example, the "soda law" that was thought of by Michael Bloomberg would never had become a law, because the law was created specifically for New York, and no other state.
While it is true that many important issues are global or national in scope, federalism is still necessary for two important reasons. The first is that some issues can be resolved faster by individual states than by the national government. For example, there are currently only 7 states where gay marriage is legal, but if this issue was decided by the national government, than it would not be legal at all yet, because it would take longer for the federal government to get enough support to make it legal. The second is that every state is different, has different problems, and needs different methods to address these problems. What works for one state may not be practical for all of the states. If America had a unitary system, there would be less political involvement on the part of the citizens, because there would be only one government making all decisions, and it would be more difficult to get its attention.
I agree with Mariham that if the government was centralized; the conditions of the states will become worse. In a unitary system; the government won't be aware of the problems of the people; and in this case people won't support the government and, would lose it's trust. Therefore, the states would corrupt as, the people in charge don't care about solving its problems but, solving international problems. That would lead to the failure of government.
I believe that having a unitary government would cause a delay in moving the nation forward as well as creating longer fights. Its only natural for state and national governments to have different views on certain topics. I believe that this will create a disaster and that the world would not get what needs to be done, done.
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