Cooperative Federalism Concept - Assignment Example

Only the federal government can declare war while both federal and state governments can tax (Grant 256).

Question # 2
Cooperative federalism is a constitutional and political concept that was created in the Twentieth Century, and it stresses the decentralization of government powers, but not equal sharing of government responsibilities between local, state and federal institutions and agencies (Grant 257). This implies that both federal and state governments are concurrently independent and interdependent with a common region of financial resources and functions. Therefore, it is difficult for a single government to accumulate all the powers.

Question # 3
The courts affect the sovereignty of the state particularly when the laws are unconstitutional (Grant 257). However, the most significant question is who determines what is unconstitutional. The state authority usually has the power to declare any Congress’ law unconstitutional by using the right reasoning method. Additionally, the primary function of a state government is to protect its citizens and their common good. State Court judges usually swear to uphold the constitution while federal court judges do not.

Question # 4
Poor states cannot offer benefits that rich states can provide, yet state citizens whether poor or rich are equally considered American citizens. National citizenship is responsible for addressing these inequalities. Another example is that cooperative federalism blurs the thin line between national and state responsibility (Grant 261). This encourages people to express their interest at the government level that offers the best opportunity for success.

Question # 5
Yes. This is because early supporters of the Washington Administration were known as Federalists because they advocated for a strong national government that outweighed state governments (Grant 261). Those who were in the opposition became Republicans since they felt that a strong national government would undermine the functions of states’ governments, which forms the United States of America. Federalists then became what is presently known as democrats. Even in the current U.S. government, the democrats are in the government while republicans are the opposition (Grant 257).
Part B
Question # 1
In this quotes, the President was telling American citizens about the significance of the state of the union. He is calling upon all American citizens to come and work together towards achieving the American dream. For example, when it comes to security matters, all citizens are expected to make an effort and participate in maintaining national security since it is not an individual’s affair.

Question # 2
In this speech, the President was trying to indicate that the constitution sometimes gives him the power to act above Congress decisions. According to the American Constitution, the President has significant discretion in how the Congress to pass laws, implement laws or express will. Therefore, the president can at times reject a law passed by Congress or partially implement the law. He also has the power to increase or decrease the expenditure of money approved by Congress.

Question # 3
The President was referring to the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, section 3 that says, “The president shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their considerations such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient’’ (The Guardian)). Therefore, President Obama is right when he says that he is mandated to report the state of the union and improve it, and all American citizens are required to participate in the implementation process.
Question # 4
In his speech, the President demonstrated how much a state of the union could bolt up policy territory from providing clean energy to the mortgage market to infrastructure repair to pre-school education. In relation to pre-school education, most states have noted that the earlier a child begins his or her schooling, the better they get down the road. I propose that allocating more dollars in high-quality early education will significantly save the nation from more expenses by reducing child pregnancy, booting education and reducing violent crime among the youths. Therefore, all the kids should be given this excellent opportunity to better their future lives.