Girls/Boys State TCC State and Local Government: American Federalism

Federalism is a system of government in which powers are divided and shared between different levels, e.g. national, state and local.

While other countries may embody the majority of their governmental powers in the hands of one central government, we in the United States have chosen to share that power between a central power, i.e. the federal government and 50 different regional groups, the states.

There are advantages to a federalist system:

Public policy can be both tailored for local needs, as well providing guidance for issues that relate to the country as a whole.

There are disadvantages to a federalist system:

There can be inequalities between states;
There can be policy gaps between the federal and state governments.
There can be endless conflict between the federal and state systems as to who shall dominate a specific area of policy.

In this contract with the Federal Government, states give up specific rights…

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However, the Founding Fathers also found it important to guarantee certain rights to the states, exclusive of the Federal government, in Article IV of the U.S. Constitution. Rights that the states are guaranteed . . .

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The issue of Federalism is not however, a resolved issue. To this day, we continue to define and redefine the role of the Federal and state governments.

President Clinton issued an executive order in August 1999 attempting to reduce the problem of unfunded mandates. Executive Order 13132 of August 4, 1999Federal Register: August 10, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 153), Presidential Documents, page 43255-43259. To view this Executive Order, click on President Clinton’s picture.

Florida and Federalism:

"These are not my figures I'm quoting. They're the figures of someone who knows what they are talking about."Quote from actual Florida House debate, “House Journal.”

Florida is just one of 50 forms of state governments in the United States. As a product of federalism, every state, while still part of the same nation, may emphasize different goals, be comprised of different populations, and thereby, have different problems from one another.

Within the 50 states, Florida ranks 4th highest in population, with more than 18 million people. Only California, Texas and New York have larger populations.