Discussion 2
I agree that one of federalism’s key strengths is its flexibility. It gives our government the ability to best suit the needs of each individual area of the country. This system allows for state and local governments to be able to represent and make laws specific to their specific citizens better than a large, unified national government could. While this flexibility allows these differences in local laws, it still allows the national government to have supreme jurisdiction over state governments. This unique system benefits from this flexibility.
I think that the use of rules and restrictions on states can at times be used by the federal government to bully state governments into following a national agenda. This unfair situation can lead to the federal government pulling certain funding from states if they do not comply with how the national government wants them to govern. I think while in theory, it seems fair for the national government to be able to put rules on how its own money is spent, ultimately this seems like it could do more harm than good, by infringing on the states' rights to govern themselves.
I think that in today’s day and age, more power needs to be restored to state governments. The federal government present day has gained far more power than the founding fathers had ever intended it to have. With how diverse our country has become and how different regions are from each other, I think it is important to balance power back to the states so that their people are better represented.