Functions Of The State Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

The way in which the U.S. government is organized (federalism, or federalist system) divides authority between a central government and the fifty state governments. This division provides for great diversity in politics, programs, and policies across the fifty individual states. Federalism, as defined by David Rosenbloom and Robert Kravchuck, is “a form of governmental organization that divides political authority between a central government and state or provincial governments” (2005).Although the U.S. Constitution certainly makes the federal government supreme, states are given a great deal of authority and discretion over programs and their citizens. Generally it is true that functions that serve as a benefit to the entire country, such as national security, foreign relations, and currency, are generally handled by the federal government. However, functions that serve a smaller group of individuals and may be impacted by differences in the cultures and needs seen at a smaller scale are generally handled at the lower levels of the American government, particularly the state level.

The Tenth Amendment states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Essentially this says that if the Constitution does not specifically give the federal government the power or authority over a policy area, then the states retain that power and authority. This division of powers and authorities coupled with the wide latitude states are given under the U.S. Constitution has created a great amount of diversity in state level approaches to policy areas and problems. In fact, a metaphor coined by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis in 1932 likened states to “laboratories of democracy.” Although variations in specific approaches to social problems and needs exist across the fifty states, several major policy areas are generally viewed as the primary functions of the state: education, social services, justice and protection of people, housing, economic development, and transportation. Of these typical functions, education is the primary function of the states. In fact, states generally fund over half of the public education system. In general, however, within all of these policy realms exists a variety of specific approaches across the states.

In addition to the variation across the states in terms of specific approaches to policies, many states share or delegate responsibility and authority to municipal and county governments. Within the context of the American federalist system, local governments are viewed as entities of their respective states. Dillon’s Rule has affirmed that local governments hold only the power that their respective states give to them. Additionally, in some cases, authority, such as is the case with transportation, is shared between the federal, state, and local levels. In addition to specific authorities, states are also often in charge of implementing federal mandates. Generally, mandates are rules or requirements that the federal government forces states to implement and impose on inhabitants of their specific states. These mandates often include environmental controls, educational minimums, and social service provisions.

The division of power in the U.S. federalist system has evolved over the course of history. Alongside the historical evolution of federalism, states’ functions and responsibilities have shifted and changed. Federalism often is divided into four distinct eras: dual (layer-cake), cooperative (marble-cake), creative (picket fence), and new (federal retrenchment). During each of these eras the role of the state has changed. With dual federalism, separation between the states and the federal government was the primary feature. States were equal and had their own distinct policy realm. States were generally viewed as a separate but equal government entity. The Great Depression ushered in cooperative federalism, wherein the federal government became more powerful and states entered into cooperative agreements with the federal government over policies and programs. The New Deal programs are key examples of the cooperation between states and the federal government during this era. In the creative federalism era, states were forced to implement many more federal government mandates than in previous times. This era was marked by overloaded cooperation and greater federal involvement in the state and local governments’ affairs. States were sometimes even being bypassed in policies as the federal government reached down to the local level for implementation of certain programs. Finally, during the new federalism era, a gradual return of states’ rights and responsibilities has been seen. During this era a great deal of power and authority has been restored or delegated to the states’ domain, with the federal government retreating to its more traditional authorities. With the current globalization trends, the states’ role in economic development and public policy likely will become of greater importance in citizens’ daily lives, and the variations across the fifty states will hold greater implications for the future.

Bibliography:

New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285, U.S. Supreme Court (1932).
Peterson, Steven, and Thomas Rasmussen. State and Local Politics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990.
Rosenbloom, David H., and Robert S. Kravchuck. Public Administration: Understanding Management, Politics, and Law in the Public Sector, 6th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2005.
Smith, Keven B., Alan Greenblatt, and John Buntin. Governing States and Localities. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2004.

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