Federalism

2 Pages 587 Words

Federalism is a political system comprised of several local units of government and one national government that can both make decisions with respect to at least some governmental activities and whose existence is specially protected. Sovereignty is shared so that on some matters the national government is supreme, and on some matters the state governments are supreme. But in the last twenty-five years, the increase of federal mandates on state and local governments has shifted the balance of power between national and state governments. The national government is beginning to have more control over the states’ actions. Federal mandates are rules imposed by the federal government on the states as conditions for obtaining federal grants or requirements that the states pay the costs of certain nationally defined programs. Unfunded federal mandates usually concern civil rights or the environment. Since the 1970’s, the number of federal mandates imposed by Congress and the courts have greatly increased. As more mandates are created by Congress, the national government gains more control over the state governments. The states follow the conditions laid out in the mandates so that they will be eligible to receive money in the form of federal grants. Therefore, the national government is becoming more powerful and the state and local governments are becoming more dependent on and in some ways, subservient to it. One recently enacted mandate is the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was enacted in 1990. It requires businesses and state and local governments to provide the disabled with equal access to services, employment, buildings, and transportation. The objective of this mandate was to give disabled persons equal opportunities and services, and remove any discrimination. Fiscally, this act has created another burden for state and local governments. Local governments are now responsible for making sure that new buses, taxis and train...