Week Three: Understanding Eras of Federalism and Their Corresponding IGRs

1. Week Three: Understanding Eras of Federalism and Their Corresponding IGRs

2. Questions Guiding the Evolution of the American Federal System • What is the proper role of government? How does this understanding vary across the levels of government? • When is federal encroachment into “state” matters an unconstitutional infringement on state authority ? • How do we recognize and/or address inequities in our political system? • How do federal-state relationships affect actors’ ability to achieve their political/economic goals?

3. Features of Early American Federal System and IGRs • Ambiguity of state governments • Confederation:A system of governance where subnational governments band together to create a national government to achieve specific common goals. • Weakness of the Articles of Confederation

4. Weakness of the Articles of Confederation “The failure of the Articles to give Congress any power of ‘coercion’ over the states arose naturally ‘from a mistaken confidence that the justice, good faith, the honor, the sound policy, of the several legislative assemblies would render superfluous any appeal to the ordinary motives by which the laws secure the obedience of individuals … a confidence which does honor to the enthusiastic virtue of the compilers, as much as the inexperience of the crisis apologizes for their errors.” - Rakove citing Madison

5. Intergovernmental Institutional Arrangements of the Articles • Assign Responsibility • Determine Accountability and Performance • Define Participation • Degree to Which National Interest or Will Can be Imposed • Regulate the Flow of Information, Capital, and Population

6. Questions Guiding the Evolution of the American Federal System • What is the proper role of government? How does this understanding vary across the levels of government? • When is federal encroachment into “state” matters an unconstitutional infringement on state authority ? • How do we recognize and/or address inequities in our political system? • How do federal-state relationships affect actors’ ability to achieve their political/economic goals?

7. Features of Early American Federal System and IGRs • Ambiguity of state governments • Confederation:A system of governance where subnational governments band together to create a national government to achieve specific common goals. • Weakness of the Articles of Confederation • Constitutional Convention sought to redefine IGRs • Senate, judicial review, enumeration of powers

8. Features of Early American Federal System and IGRs “The tension between levels of government was a product of conscious strategy. The Framers sought to . . . craft a government strong enough to get things done but equipped with built-in bulwarks against excessive or unaccountable power. . . . The coexistence of state and national governments, with neither able to dominate the other, would offer a separate structural safeguard against tyranny.” -Donahue

9. Group Assignment • Sort into groups of four • Your task is to address the following: • Identify the major intergovernmental decisions, policies, and changes of your assigned era • Briefly describe the economic, political, social context – how it was changing during your assigned era • Discuss the following as they relate to your assigned era: • How was policy-making responsibility assigned? • Did governmental accountability shift? • Were there any notable changes in participation? • How easily could the national government impose its will?

10. Early Era, 1790-1930 • Dual Federalism: National and state government are to operate independently with separate jurisdiction • Intergovernmental Cooperation • Movement To Greater National Governmental Activity • White House Conference on Child Health; 16th Amendment in 1916; Regulating Economic Activity • Increasing governmental activism at all levels • Declining quality of subnational governance • Emergence of U.S. as a world power

11. President Madison, March 1817 “I am not unaware of the great importance of roads and canals and the improved navigation of water courses, and that a power in the National Legislature to provide for them might be exercised with signal advantage to the general prosperity. But seeing that such a power is not expressly given by the Constitution, and believing that it cannot be deduced from any part of it without an inadmissible latitude of construction and a reliance on insufficient precedents . . . I have no option but to withhold my signature . . . ”

12. Early Era, 1790-1930 • Dual Federalism: National and state government are to operate independently with separate jurisdiction • Intergovernmental Cooperation • Movement To Greater National Governmental Activity • White House Conference on Child Health; 16th Amendment in 1916; Regulating Economic Activity • Increasing governmental activism at all levels • Declining quality of subnational governance • Emergence of U.S. as a world power

13. Cooperative Federalism Cooperative efforts between the levels of government in order to advance policy goals that meet the needs or interests of the different levels of government, but which could not be achieved by any one level of government acting alone due to political, legal, administrative, and/or fiscal constraints.

14. New Deal Federalism: 1930-1960 • Turmoil of the Great Depression • Despite stronger national role – still an element of state/local control • Court-packing scheme • Expansion of federal activity • Dawn of “Cooperative Federalism”

15. Interdependent Federalism: 1960-1980 • Expansion of IG Aid • Categorical grants • Expansion of the American Social Welfare State • Heavy Urban Focus • Coordination = problematic

16. Functional Changes in Federal IG Aid, 1965 to 1969

17. Nixon’s New Federalism • Management Reforms • Block Grants • Revenue Sharing • Family Assistance Plan

18. Means-tested Social Welfare Spending Under Nixon (in millions)

19. Functional Changes in Federal IG Aid, 1969 to 1977

20. Carter’s Approach to Federalism • Economic Hardship = Big Constraint • Concerns with Energy and Foreign Relations = Dominant • Many Reform Goals, Little Action • Target $ to poorest communities • Use public $ to stimulate private investment • Streamline grant and administrative processes • Exercise fiscal constraint

21. Trends in Public Opinion

22. New Federalism: 1980-Today • Reagan/Bush • Reduce Federal Role • Consolidate Categorical Grants • Hand Responsibility for Social Programs to the States • Reduce Federal Regulatory Role • Goal = Smaller Government at All Levels • Clinton • Some effort to devolve programs and reduce unfunded mandates

23. Federal IG Aid by Area, 1980 to 1985

24. The Clinton Years • Some effort to devolve programs and reduce unfunded mandates • TANF, Unfunded Mandates Reform Act, EO 13132 • Mixed outcomes – some devolution, some preemption • Congressional action • Health Care Reform • Advisory Commission on IGR (ACIR) • Crime

25. Readings for Next Week:Chapters Five and Six, The State of the States, Van Horn (pp. 77-142)Managing HHS Cuts case (online)