Discussion 2
1. I agree with Kettl that flexibility can be a strength of Federalism, but I think it can also be a weakness. Flexibility allows our government to move quickly to solve problems as they arise, but it can also leave a lot of room for inconsistencies across the country. Kettl discusses how states handled enforcing federal laws prohibiting marijuana vastly different. I believe is unfair that some nonviolent offenders would get a harsher punishment than others under the same national law simply because they were in different states. However, different states have differing issues dependent on population or environment, so the flexibility Federalism allows is beneficial for the states to best serve its citizens more directly.
2. I agree that it is fair that the federal government place rules and restrictions on grants, since it is the nation’s money and not only a certain state’s. I like the example Kettl provided about the “urban renewal” projects funded by national grants. The grants allowed for the beautification, expansion, and progress of cities to be funded when it was not a priority for state or local governments but was a priority for citizens. Overall, when used for improving citizens’ quality of life, grants are a good way for the federal government to impose its will, it can also infringe upon the rights of state governments to coerce them into conforming into the national agenda.
3. If I could change one aspect of the constitutional design of federalism, I would give less power to the government, both state and national, and give individual people more of a voice. While I agree with the premise of our representative democracy, there is no reason to split votes by county instead of by the popular vote. The electoral college causes a lot of confusion for the average voter, and with how far technology and vote-counting systems have come, our country should allow every vote to count with the same weight. I do not believe states need more rights over their people with less government input, because this could further polarize the country and cause people to move states.