U.S. State & Local Governments - Assignment Example

U.S. State & Local Governments  Question group #1 Describe the supremacy clause and its impact upon our federal system. What is the meaning of the Tenth Amendment. The Supremacy Clause sates that the powers of Congress would be considered superior to the powers of the states in general according to the American Constitution itself. The supremacy clause affects the sovereignty of the states in situation where the laws are unconstitutional. The tenth amendment of US constitution is nothing but a part of the Bill of Rights and came in to effect from 15th December 1971. It states that the Constitution's principle of federalism has to be protected by providing powers not sanctioned to the national government. How did McCulloch v. Maryland enhance the powers of the national government? The facts of the case McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) center around the Second Bank of the United States and the Supreme Court ruled that the Congress did indeed have the power to charter a national bank and it was clarified that the government of the Union, though limited in its power, is supreme within its sphere of action. Explain how advocates for same-sex marriage might use Article IV of the U.S. Constitution to advance their cause. Article IV of the U.S. Constitution makes it mandatory for each state to recognize the institutions of other states. As five states of USA have legalized same-sex marriage as a result of a court ruling, and three others have implemented the same through voting in their state legislatures, the advocates use Article IV for its national applicability. Why does the federal government provide grants to state and local governments? The Federal government provides grants to state and local governments to address the natural disasters, internal improvements, civil disturbances etc. In addition, the grants are also granted for social relief, financial reform and economic recovery. Describe the different types of federal grants Federal grant money may be categorized in two ways: direct grants and pass-through grants. Second way of classification is competitive or formula. Question group #2 ? Explain the functions of state constitutions. The state governments have been entrusted with the power to make laws on all subjects that are not granted to the national government or denied to the states in the US constitution. These include education, family law, crimes and contract law. How do they differ from the U.S. Constitution? The state’s constitution is mainly meant for the taking care of the basic rights of the citizens of the state and to provide them most dignified way of living with in the territories of the state. It differs from the Federal constitution which aims at unifying a new nation and govern its people. What are some of the common criticisms and problems associated with the typical state constitution? The state constitution only gives importance to the provision of basic facilities to the citizen’s living in its geographical boundaries and it doesn’t bother about the national integration and other national objectives. Several times, the powers of states are limited if Federal constitution provisions are not satisfied. How has the Fourteenth Amendment restrained state efforts to curb civil liberties? The Fourteenth Amendment proposed by Congress in 1866 and ratified by the states in 1868 aimed at providing immunities to the citizens of the USA against the acts of the States to curb the civil liberties. It provided immunities of citizens of the United States and from depriving persons of due process of law or equal protection of the laws. What were some of the factors leading to New Jersey’s state constitutional convention in 1947? New Jersey's first state constitution was adopted on July 2, 1776. It was drafted in five days to establish a temporary government and hence the New Jersey was prevented from collapsing and descending into anarchy. The fundamental documents i.e. Concession and agreement had governed the New Jersey. Briefly discuss some of the areas where the liberties afforded to New Jersey citizen through our state constitution are greater than those found in the United States Constitution. In the areas of education and local government, the liberties provided to the New Jersey State Constitution are greater than that of USA constitution. Question group #3 Discuss the concept of Grassroots Democracy in America. Grassroots democracy is nothing but a tendency towards designing governance in which majority decision-making authority is entrusted to the organization's lowest geographic level of organization: principle of subsidiary. USA has provided several meaningful clauses in its constitution to establish the grass root democracy. What factors have prevented it from becoming a reality? Though grass root democracy has been initiated with full initiative, the practical success could not be achieved fully due to lack of sufficient funds granted to local government and political interference from the top leadership etc. Describe and discuss the different mechanisms of direct democracy that are found in the states. The mechanism of Referendums and plebiscites The mechanism of citizen initiative. The mechanism of legislative recall. Describe the respective arguments in favor and in opposition to term limits. In Favor : Term limits downgrades seniority, favors meritocracy. Increases competition, encourages new challengers. Encourages lower taxes, smaller government, greater voter participation in elections. In Opposition : Terminates the good politicians along with the bad. Reduces range of voter choice. Increases the power of staff, lobbies, and bureaucracy. Discuss voting behavior in state and local elections. The study based on elections turnout data in all states from 1994 through 2004 indicated that socio-demographics and candidate characteristics were the major determinants of voter roll-off. In general, low turnout may be due to contentment and disenchantment. Which groups are most likely to turnout to vote? Which are least likely? Some parts of society are more likely to vote than others. For example, in 2008 US President elections, the overall voter turn out was recorded as 63% where as it was recorded as 68% among African Americans. Educated class voted with higher percentage compared to uneducated section. Young people voted with higher percentage than elderly people. Provide an explanation for the behavior differences between voters and nonvoters. The voters in general have the habit of casting their vote and they are more serious about their representation than the non voters. They vote more regularly in all the elections. Voters perceive democracy as most powerful medium in which they represent their issues. Voters will have more awareness about the socioeconomic factors compared to non voters. The non voters get more sensitivity to political alienation. References McCulloch v. Maryland (1819). 17 US 316. United States v. Lopez (1995). 514 U.S. 549. Read More