Federalism and Administration of Policy - Research Paper Example

Federalism and Administration of Policy Federalism can be defined as a political system where a written constituent distributes authority among the central government and sub-divisional or provincial governments. Each government performs straightforwardly for the people by their administrators and commandments. Both kinds of government are absolutely inside their proper range of authority and both need approval for any modifications to the constitution. Federalism can be viewed as a negotiation between the supreme absorption of authority and a loose federation of sovereign states for governing a range of citizens typically in an area or territory. Federalism has the quality of holding local pride, ethnicities and supremacy, while letting the central government to manage common issues. In the United States, ‘federal government’ is generally assumed to bring up entirely the national government in Washington1. Federalism With Respect To Execution and Administration of Policy One of the most compound subdivisions of federalism analysis is that of political economic federalism. It includes federal bodies’ monetary situations and their political background. Incorporation with the global economy, impacts the cost-benefit analysis of federalism. The advantage of federalism is that it slices out variety within a nation, so that citizens can choose a place to move on which meets their requirements for policies such as taxation and consumer goods among others. Incorporation with global economy can raise expenses of regionalization if significant governments are permitted to use the status of the central government2. The federalist system in the USA enjoys shared power between federal, state and local governments and involves a requirement for cooperation, harmonization, and interaction. In the American federalism system, the local governments possess most of the discretions and responsibilities for emergency and disaster management where federal organizations are envisioned to deliver monetary support and resources. State governments act as intercessor by enabling the operations of federal policies regarding emergency and disaster management at the local level3. Role Of Three Branches Of Federal Government The constitution comprises of a system which separates the authority where three branches of federal government can scrutinize and balance the role of each other. The three branches of federal government are ‘Executive branch’, ‘Legislative branch’ and ‘Judicial branch’4. Executive Branch: Executive branch comprises of the President, Vice President, and other Cabinet Officials such as State Secretary, Treasury Secretary, Defense Secretary and Labor Secretary among others. These officials are appointed by President and together they make up the executive branch. The role of executive branch is to implement the commandments4. Legislative Branch: The legislative branch comprises of the ‘Senate’ and ‘House of Representatives’. The most important role of legislative branch is to make the rules, regulations and laws. It is the duty of legislative branch to decide the policies and how the federal money can be used for the benefits of the country4. Judicial Branch: The judicial branch comprises of the Supreme Court as well as other courts. The judicial branch clarifies the implication of constitution and commandments that are issued by legislative branch. The role of judicial branch is to interpret the regulations and punish the criminals and the lawbreakers4. Interaction And Intersection Of Three Branches With State Governments People interact regularly with the state governments. State governments comprise of police divisions, libraries, education and issuing licenses among others. Each state government has its own written structure and those are far more elegant compared to the federal equivalents. According to the 10th amendment of American constitution, each and every authority reserved for state government is not allowed to the federal government5. Executive Branch: The executive branch in every state is controlled by governor who is directly designated by state citizens. State governments possess the power to form the administrative structure6. Legislative Branch: The legislative branch can support the state governments’ budget and start tax regulation and ‘articles of impeachment’. ‘Articles of impeachment’ is a part of system which scrutinizes and balances the three branches of federal government to avert from abusing the authority7. Judicial Branch: The state judicial branches are controlled by state supreme court. Court arrangements and legal actions are determined either by law or state constitutions. Rules developed in state supreme courts are normally obligatory in nature but regulatory problems might be entrusted directly to the federal Supreme Court8. In the 20th century, several issues have emerged regarding the capability of federal government to control matters which were formerly regulated by state government. A new system of corporate authority has been produced which is insisting the requirement for a strong national government which can compete against powerful global organizations. The reactions of federal government towards World War II and Civil Rights Activities highlighted the significance of a strong national government which can act on a countrywide balance to standardize business, administer workplace agreement and control private-personal collaboration. In the end of 20th century, the authority of national government was criticized by those groups of people who repelled the development of federal government in comparison with state government. These groups brought comprehendible substantial attainments in shifting supremacy from national government to state government and from government to private organizations. Several events such as 9/11 attack and attack on Iraq have changed the role of federal government with respect to state government. In the USA, the national government can distribute federal money through ‘Homeland Security Office’ and it has enlarged the authority through federal regulating supports9. Money Allocation Federal organizations are liable for health care, unlawful justice, environmental safety, and financial aid to the state governments. National administrations of councils stress for more federal money, but not amplified subsidy for any specific state. As federal money is significant for states, they are likely to compete with each other for getting major portion of it. Federal government faces difficulties to comprehend the spending amount on any particular fund. With the arrival of grants oriented money distribution system, the results of survey of every 10 years help to assume the important matters for allocating money. There are several constraints on the grant money that state government receives. For instance, if a state establishes anything with federal money, first there is need for conducting an ‘environmental impact study’. State should provide the construction laborers the principal wages and frequently provide opportunities for residents’ involvement in certain extent for planning or deciding location of plan. In the USA, state governments have become increasingly dependent on Washington for funding requirement after 1960. However, in present days, there are many arguments regarding the authority of federal government to control the grant money and emerging more federal tasks on state governments10. Improvement Of Administration Program In Terms Of Federalism On the basis of managing disasters such as Hurricane, there must be clear understanding between federal and state government about the responsibility and authority for successful intergovernmental response. For improving the administration program the following factors are useful: There is need to build an efficient system to certify that federal and state emergency administration bureaucrats conduct practical discussion with local bureaucrats in order to make crucial judgments that can affect disaster readiness and reaction at the local level There should be sufficient money for local emergency readiness and disaster arrangement to let a city to modify preparations according to the requirements to any particular areas which are prone to disaster Local government should be given with technical aid and regional teaching dedicated for disaster alertness and reaction The federal government should share information with local governments without endangering national security. Broad efforts should be made to increase and develop the interactions between federal, state and local governments for better networking, disaster readiness and prevention, and emergency reaction and rescue11 The final responsibility for disaster and emergency awareness and reaction does not lie on a single government. There must be joint dependence among several governmental organizations as well as private and non-profit establishments. Policies that direct an emergency reaction can differ broadly in practical field through federal, state and local governmental bodies12. References Annenberg Foundation. Democracy in America. 2011. http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_3/dia_3_readings.html (accessed October 13, 2011). Trueman, C. Federalism. 2011. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/fed.htm (accessed October 13, 2011). Schneck, D. Federalism and Its Impact on Emergency Response to Disasters and Catastrophes Debra Schneck. 2009. http://www.indiana.edu/~workshop/publications/materials/conference_papers/Schneck_Spring%202009.pdf (accessed October 13, 2011) Srinivasan, T. N. and Wallack Jessica. S. 2006. Federalism and Economic Reform: International Perspectives. England: Cambridge University Press. The White House. State & Local Government. n.d. http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/state-and-local-government (accessed October 13, 2011) Utah State Office of Education. Three Branches of Government. n.d. http://www.uen.org/themepark/liberty/3branches.shtml (accessed October 13, 2011) U.S. Government Printing Office. 2007. Federalism and Disaster Response: Examining The Roles And Responsibilities Of Local, State, And Federal Agencies: Hearing. United States: DIANE Publishing. Wilson, James Q., John J. Dilulio and Meenekshi Bose. 2011. American Government: Institutions & Policies. India: Cengage Learning. Bibliography Abney, Glenn and Thomas P. Lauth. 1986. The Politics of State and City Administration. New York: SUNY Press. Feeley, Malcolm and Edward L. Rubin. 2008. Federalism: Political Identity and Tragic Compromise. America: University of Michigan Press. Paul T. Hill and Ellen L. Marks. Federal Influence over State and Local Government. 1982 http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED234523.pdf (accessed October 13, 2011) McEntire, David A. 2007. Disciplines, Disasters, and Emergency Management: The Convergence and Divergence of Concepts, Issues and Trends from the Research Literature. UK: Charles C Thomas Publisher. Read More