Question description
Questions
1.
The Role of Washington
The United States Constitution specifically delegates to the
states any powers that are not enumerated to Washington. In practice, however,
Washington has a vast number of tools it uses to influence state policy, often
involving granting – or withholding – funding to the states for a variety of
initiatives. Citing the text, provide a two to three paragraph response about
your views of Federalism today. Do you believe that Washington has taken the
lead in policy creation and implementation? Do you think that states are, in
practice, beholden to Washington because of the funding that they depend upon
from the central government? Or, on the contrary, do you think that the states
maintain a great deal of power and autonomy in our Federalism system? Provide
examples, when relevant, to support your analysis.
2.
States as Policy Laboratories
It has often been noted by scholars that the fifty states
are policy laboratories that craft and implement public policies that are very
specific and relevant to their state populations. In many cases, these
experiments sometimes rise to the level of becoming a national policy because
Congress will use them as model legislation. Write a page paper – Describe any specific policies
within your state that have been crafted in response to unique circumstances in
your state. For example, Louisiana has fashioned many new policies involving
emergency responsiveness since Hurricane Katrina, and California has many
unique policies concerning the environment that are not found in other states.
Provide a brief review of one policy in your state that you find interesting.
