Module #2

While the U.S. federal system certainly has its flaws (especially when it comes to organizing plans of action across state and government boundaries and being adaptive and preventing delays/stagnancies in particular programs and policies), state governments are more at liberty to experiment with policies, allowing for more innovations, as they have a more direct relationship with the public via local governments. State governments also have many powers that have not been delegated to the national government, a move that would seemingly give the states more power. However, this only cemented nation-centered nationalism into the consciousness of the nation, granting the national government an almost limitless amount of control over the delegated powers it possesses and exercises. We currently have cooperative federalism in place, which technically is meant to facilitate links and arrangements between the three levels of government, however, the national government, even now, still has somewhat of a hold over state governments via federal preemption. While the federal government has many enumerated and implied powers, including regulating interstate and foreign commerce, as well as the ability to declare war (among many others), it does not have the power to change state boundaries, pass laws that contradict the Bill of Rights, nor impose religious tests or taxes on state exports. In contrast, state governments are able to conduct elections, protect public health, safety, and morals, and have all powers not given to the federal government. 

While historically the states were given power only because of the (rightful) fear of a too-powerful federal government, the federal government still has extensive control over many of the things that occur within and outside of the nation itself. With this being the case, the national government often faces the problem of regulating and coordinating actions across boundaries which often leads to political gridlock. The state governments can more easily coordinate actions within their boundaries and are more easily able to collaborate with one another both on formal and informal grounds. However, state governments struggle with managing a multitude of varied interests. State governments are creating many innovations via programs and policymaking, however, they seem to falter in distributing funding to areas where monies are most needed like health and education (although this can also be a fault of the federal government for making it especially difficult for states to follow through with these innovations because of federal mandates).