What is the price of federalism? Does it result in governmental
interconnections that are too complex? Does it create overlapping
responsibilities? Does it perpetuate social inequalities? Does it
stifle economic growth? To answer these questions, Paul Peterson sets
forth two theories of federalism: functional and legislative.
Functional theory is optimistic. It says that each level of the
federal system is well designed to carry out the tasks for which it is
mainly responsible. State and local governments assume responsibility
for their area's physical and social development; the national
government cares for the needy and reduces economic inequities.
Legislative theory, in contrast, is pessimistic: it says that national
political leaders, responding to electoral pressures, misuse their
power. They shift unpopular burdens to lower levels of government
while spending national dollars on popular government programs for
which they can claim credit. Both theories are used to explain
different aspects of American federalism. Legislative theory explains
why federal grants have never been used to equalize public services.
Elected officials cannot easily justify to their constituents a vote
to shift funds away from the geographic area they represent. The
overall direction that American federalism has taken in recent years
is better explained by functional theory. As the costs of
transportation and communication have declined, labor and capital have
become increasingly mobile, placing states and localities in greater
competition with one another. State and local governments are
responding to these changes by overlooking the needs of the poor,
focusing instead on economic development. As a further consequence,
older, big cities of the Rust Belt, inefficient in their operations
and burdened by social responsibilities, are losing jobs and
population to the suburban communities that surround them. Peterson
recommends that the national government adopt p
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780815791645
Publisert
2017
Utgiver
Vendor
Brookings Institution Press
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter