government exam 3

what are arguments for political power being located more locally?

-local conditions understood -communities have right to decide -more easily accountable (less absolute power)

what are arguments for political power being located more nationally?

-attracts greater expertise -helps ensure equality across nation -avoids interstate chaos/nation.

what is a unitary state?

power is centralized at national level

what is a federation?

power is shared between local and national governments

what is a confederation?

power is held at local/regional levels

what’s the difference between “layer cake” and “marble cake” federalism? and what do we have now?

layer cake is where layers don’t intersect. “to each their own.” marble cake is where some powers are exclusive rights of the national government, some local, some shared (where we are)

what is the elastic clause?

it creates a set of “implied powers” to be discovered by courts

what is the commerce clause?

suggests that interstate commerce is the domain of congress.

why do the elastic and commerce clauses matter?

they play a huge role in determining how much power national, state, and local governments have.

what is the 1st period of court cases?

19th century: expands federal

what is the 2nd period of court cases?

industrialization: contracts federal

what is the 3rd period of court cases?

mid-20th century: expands federal

what is the 4th period of court cases?

modern era: contracts federal

what did the 4 periods of court cases do?

the balance of power shifted between federal and state governments

which four court cases expanded federal power?

McCulloch vs. Maryland, Gibbons vs. Ogden, NLRB vs. Jones & Laughlin Steel, and Wickard vs. Filburn.

which four cases contracted federal power?

U.S. vs. E.C. Knight Co, U.S. vs. Lopez, U.S. vs. Morrison, Hammer vs. Dagenhart

what are some modern political issues that are disputed in terms of federalism?

-voter rights (where/when people can vote, ability to deny ballots/access) -education policy (what we teach/how we fund it) -marijuana policy

what is fiscal federalism?

federal government can give a lot of money to states with grants or not. they can use this money to incentivize states to do what they want. Ex: Medicaid expansion to states.

what is polarized federalism?

a dynamic where national gridlock contrasts with single-party dominance at the state level. with less public scrutiny and cross-state party coordination, states become the main drivers of policy change.

do states now make more or less policies?

more policy changes because national gridlock forces action down to the states, and single-party control combined with low public scrutiny lets them pass laws quickly.

what are some advantages of federalism?

-allows flexibility for local conditions -”laboratories of democracy” meaning experimenting creates better policies -creates point of resistance to national gov.

what are some disadvantages of federalism?

-local minorities less represented -people pay less attention to local politics -”race to the bottom” where state competition leads to worse public outcomes bc of increase in tax rates.

what is dillon’s rule?

state laws over local ones

what are some typical features of a state legislature?

control is almost always unified. It has state house/assembly, and a state senate.