Federalism- What is it and why is it important?:
published by Reform of the Federation
Federalism is the
foundation of our government today. “Federalism is a system of government where powers are distributed
between a central government and regional governments.”(Reform of the
Federation 1). There
are many countries around the world, including the United States, who have
adopted this form of government because it is very beneficial for the country. With
federalism, regional governments have the ability to provide services more
efficiently for the communities they are responsible of. This method is much more
logical and organized rather than having just a central government. “Federalism increases participation in the
democratic process, as people are able to elect representatives in more than
one government, can vote for different parties at the regional and national
levels, and can lobby more than one government.”(Reform of the Federation 1). This
is important because citizens are able to contribute to their government and
shape it into what they want it to be. By being able to elect representatives
in more than one government, an individual’s chance of successfully receiving
which representatives they voted for increases. “Competition between governments (competitive federalism) can lead to
policy innovation and better services, as individual regions experiment with
social, economic, and political policies which might be adopted in other
jurisdictions if they are successful.”(Reform of the Federation 1). Competitive
federalism fuels governments to brainstorm harder on how to make society today
and the way it works more productive. These ideas could spread globally and
change the way society works as a whole.
The Importance of Federalism and Localized Government:
published by Brad Schnitzer
Federalism is important because it creates
many diverse options for citizens to take advantage of. “One of the greatest things that decentralized government allows is choice.
If a person believes that their state’s policies are bad, they have 49 other
states to choose from.”(Schnitzer 1). This is important because if a state creates a new law that some citizens
cannot or do not feel comfortable adapting to, they won’t be forced to follow
that certain law. Since the community has this freedom, the individuals within
are able to migrate to other states where he or she thinks that that state is
more advantageous toward his or her lifestyle. “What state and local governments also allow is for certain types of
experiments with government ownership.”(Schnitzer 1). For example, the drought in California led to restrictions on how much
water Californians use today. It is the Californians’ responsibility to follow
these rules only, and if they choose not to, it’s their mess to clean up. If
these restrictions were for all of the United States, it wouldn’t be fair to
the other forty nine states. “Another reason decentralized government is important is
that it typically knows the issues of its citizens better than the federal
government.”(Schnitzer 1). Citizens are more in touch with
their local government because it’s simply closer than the central government. If
the problem stated by the citizens is local, then the local government will
comply and fix it accordingly because the government may be experiencing the
same local issue as well.
Arguments for Federalism:
published by Alexander T. Tabarrok
Finally, federalism is important because it enables the
government as a whole to save an ample amount of time. “The diversity of preference view implies that the more
heterogeneous a society is, the more decentralized should be its institutions.”
(Tabarrok 1). Meaning,
that different societies should have different regulations. Thanks to
federalism this is possible, but if New York and California had the same state
laws, chaos would unravel due to both states having such different civilizations
even though they’re in the same country. “Subsidiarity is a
European term that means 'higher level governments should not do anything that
lower levels government can do as well or better.'" (Tabarrok 1). In order to save
time and equally separate the responsibilities of government, federalism allows
regional governments to take care of their own duties. This aids both central
and regional governments because it allows more attention to be altered towards
bigger problems. “Note also that the subsidiarity principle also implies
that decentralization can go too far.” (Tabarrok 1). For instance, the
regional governments shouldn’t be slaving over task after task while the
central government takes all of the credit.
Responsibilities between both central and regional governments must always
remain equal.