Federal Vs. Local Gov't: Their Differences Spelled Out

One thing I've noticed around here, and in general, is that if something happens on the local level that offends or catches people off-guard, the federal gov't is often mindlessly placed with an equal amount of blame for also being the proponent of that particular legislation or what have you....

History class time! Let's go over our key terms!

Federal: Of, relating to, or being a form of government in which a union of states recognizes the sovereignty of a central authority while retaining certain residual powers of government.

Local: Relating to or applicable to or concerned with the administration of a city or town or district rather than a larger area.

Now I realize there is some flexibility here...they can manage certain portions of local gov'ts when the burden is too heavy to bare or all semblance of sanity is lost....

But last time I checked, this is how we operate things...So remember next time you dish out the blame, think a little longer about who the appropriate parties are...

The word "They" is not very descriptive....


[edit on 2/16/2005 by EnronOutrunHomerun]

Well.....I guess everyone already knew that then, huh?

I wish it would reflect in some people's verbage.....

Originally posted by EnronOutrunHomerun
Federal: Of, relating to, or being a form of government in which a union of states recognizes the sovereignty of a central authority while retaining certain residual powers of government.

I agree with this definition, but does the United States really have a true form of federalism. I would say no. Instead, state (and to some degree local) governments have essentially become the extensions of the federal government.

Take for example education. The tenth amendment states : "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it Since education is not an area of responsibility delegated to the federal government, and it is not denied to the states, it is an area in which states are sovreign. However, such sovreignty no longer exists. Just take a look at federal mandates such as No Child Left Behind. The federal government is able to make such mandates because of federal funding of education. Some experts refer to this phenomenon as fiscal federalism. Any thoughts?