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Federalism Defined, Pros & Cons

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Submitted By sdrg1979
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Federalism is also known as a division of governmental power. With Federalism all government offices work for the people and not one another. Created by our founding fathers this system was designed to ensure that all people of this country would be assured to the freedoms of which we hold so dear, but also to ensure that no one person could become a tyrant. On the other hand the federal government does have some powers over the States, and Cities, yet these are inherited as history has shown us giving states free range is not always the best idea. The civil war is a great example of where states wanting to succeed from the USG, allowing them to not adhere to any of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress, such as the abolition of slavery, and their desire to create their own currency. By spreading the power between the federal government, and local government the citizens are encouraged to stay active in their government, and the policies they put in to place.

Some of the benefits of federalism includes a lot of which many people may take for granted. Our highway system is one that everyone benefits from. Even if they do not drive, any goods they may purchase from a store, was transported on these highways. If this was left up to the states to govern, then we could be driving on one side of the road in one state, and have to switch over to the other side when entering a different state. With our federal government financing our highway system they make sure that practically all major highway rules remain the same from state to state. Another advantage to the federal system is our public education system. This is probably the most important benefit from federalism as if we did not educate our young children we probably would not be known as the country of innovations as we are today.

Federalism does come with its disadvantages, such as it prevents the creation of a single national policy. Rather than having one national policy we have 51, one for every state, along with the federal or national policy. Additionally the other main disadvantage to federalism is the lack of accountability. With the overlap of State, and federal policy it is difficult to hold one specific person or office accountable should something go wrong. Overall between the benefits, and disadvantages, I think that the Con's are completely outweighed by the Pro's. Any government should be there to serve the people, and not itself. Our devised system appears to be pretty good at serving the public. There may be some room for improvement, but that is why our system allows for changes to policies based on our public need

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