Reflection Paper - Essay Example

Reflection Paper The readings focus on different forms of government in United s. They provide historical background of the legislation and governance in United States, and how the government works. The main point of the section’s readings is that United States has a federal system which allows states to have their own government which is formed through elections, and carries out various legislative and political functions. Federalism involves dividing power between the central government and the state. The eText is the first source that explains the politics of the state of California. The eText suggests that the state is highly divided politically. For instance, the Southern Counties except Los Angeles largely support the Republican Party while the San Francisco Bay is mainly won by Democratic Party in elections (eTextbook, p.18). The causes of these regional political differences include immigration patterns, economic concentration, political culture, weather differences, and political history. The positive side of the political division between South and North is that the politics of the state are enriched with different ideas and philosophies which may lead to superior policies. On the negative side, political differences may lead to alienation and disunity which leads to poor policies and reforms in the state. “California Government has Failed us” by Jim Wunderman who explains about the roles and responsibilities of the “failed” state of California. According to Wunderman, power is given to governments by the people who are being governed and if the government destroys the governed, the people will have the right and duty to abolish that government. Wunderman also considers California as a failed state because it does not work according to the wishes of the governed. For instance, Wunderman quoted Thomas Jefferson who suggested that California was the only state in 2008 which had not passed a budget. California received a constitutional convention 30 years after it was founded. Furthermore, other legislative issues were not given real attention although there were many issues that required legislative and political attention in California. Some of the problems that demand policy and legislative focus from the state government include: water, education, healthcare, roads, housing, economic policies, prisons and several others. According to Wunderman (2008), the main cause of the legislative problems in California is the two-third majority rule. The budget was not passed because it is difficult to get two-thirds of the legislators to vote and approve the budget. Two-thirds in California is almost impossible because Republicans suggest that the threshold is their only check on extravagant spending by the democrats and if the democrats overreach the threshold, more republicans would be elected. The constitution of California also prevents the passage of a two-year budgets which would free at least one year for legislative activities as it happens in other states. Wunderman (2008) also suggests that the two systems of California Government (the senate and the assembly) carry candidates from ideological extremes. As a result, party orthodoxy prevails and any attempt to compromise may lead to political destruction. Therefore, change is completely constrained by politics which prevent bills of change from being passed. The eText suggests that propositions fail to pass the legislature because the Democratic Party which controls the legislature is mainly opposed to the spirit of propositions (p.242). Some of the Democrats from the rural and urban constituencies represent the conservative interests; but the dominant group of Democrats always brings down their ideas in the committee stage (eText, p.242). The propositions that minorities often oppose are won easily by the majority. On the other hand, propositions from the minorities never get anywhere in the legislature (eText, p.42). This is supports the argument of Wunderman (2008) who argues that the problems of California are caused by the two-thirds majority rule. Another problem with California’s government is that its taxation and spending is not clearly constituted (Wunderman, 2008). This leads to fluctuations of revenue in terms of booms and bursts that cause public services to be insufficiently funded; hence the poor remain poor, the elderly do not receive their services, the children fail to access their rights, and the business community suffers from poor economic conditions. There are also outdated laws in California’s constitution which ties local funding to the states. Wunderman (2008) considered this system as a bureaucratic red tape. Many state agencies and commissions in California also enjoy long term or even permanent approval from the government, unlike agencies from other states such as Texas which are allowed to operate for only a short period of time e.g. 12 years. These problems suggested by Wunderman (2008) are reflected in the eTextbook. According to the ebook, some of the problems affecting the state of California include high crime rates, poor healthcare, lack of facilities in schools, low rates of participation in elections, and low livability index. These problems are caused by California government and politics. California is also affected by lack of consensus and unity (eText, p.7). Gaps of diversity also exist which limit the ability of the people to unite and build consensus. Effectiveness of the state’s governance can only be enhanced by the cooperation between citizens and the state decision makers. Political, legislative and government structures are also required to enhance consensus building and policy initiatives required to boost the economy (eText, p.8). From this view of federalism and the government of California, it is clear that the distribution of power from the central government to the state of California has culminated problems that the state needs to resolve using appropriate government, political and legal structures. The second reading “Federal Regulation of Medical Marijuana: Appropriate National Power or Usurpation of State Authority?” by Rourke talks about the power of California State to regulate medical marijuana. California is one of the few states that authorize limited use of Marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Compassionate Use Act of California provides that seriously ill people of should be allowed to use Marijuana for medicinal purposes. The state government is encouraged to do everything possible to ensure that the drug is distributed safely and affordably to patients who need it. The Compassionate Use Act exempts physicians, patients and primary caregivers from criminal prosecution if they use the drug for medicinal purposes. The federal Controlled Substances Act provides that it is unlawful to manufacture, distribute or use controlled substances including marijuana except in a manner approved by the CSA (Rourke 19). This federal law conflicted with the state law and several cases have been taken to court because of this tradeoff between the federal and state law. For example, respondents Angel Raich and Diane Monson were charged for using Marijuana for medicinal purposes. The two suffered from serious illnesses and were advised by doctors to use Marijuana in order to survive. They used the California Compassionate Use Act to defend their action. The CSA was exercised against these people and the District Court ruled against them. However, the court of appeal relied on the Compassionate. In the eText, this can be analysed using the role of California legislature. The legislative process involves introduction of a bill to the assembly or the senate, and then referred to the relevant committee. The bill is put in print for 3 days to allow members of the public and the media to review it. Committee hearings then attract lobbyists and interest groups who give their opinions (eText, p.63). This indicates that the use of Marijuana for medicinal purposes was passed through these stages. Therefore, it may be considered right to have the law because it included contributions and views from members of the public. In the next article, federalism as a system of government is clearly explained as a system designed to distribute power and reduce the power of the majority over the central government. Greenberg and Page (2005, p.45) suggest that federalism involves the division of power between the central government and smaller governments including state governments. This reading is related to the previous one because it explains the role of state governments in the federal system; hence explain whether it is constitutional and acceptable for Californian State to regulate the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. According to Greenberg and Page (2005, p.46), size and diversity has encouraged the formation of state governments. United States has very many regions that differ from each other in terms of religion, economic activity, religion, ethnicity and language. As a result of this, a federal system has been embodied in US constitution in two ways: power is given expressly to the central government and the states, and states have exclusive powers to choose officials for the national government. The eText also explains why there are only two dominant parties in California while smaller parties doing badly. This is because the small parties are seen to be extreme; hence they fail to appeal to the voters (eText, p. 168). Smaller parties are also perceived to be weak because their parties are not willing to vote for candidates who are bound to lose the elections. In their voting behaviour, voters in California are likely to be Republican or Democratic (eText, p. 171). Therefore, the chance of many parties in California is very low, and this causes political problems as more ideas are not brought in. . References list Greenberg, Edward S, and Benjamin I. Page. Americas Democratic Republic. New York, NY: Pearson Longman, 2005. Print. Rourke, John T. You Decide. New York: Pearson Longman. 2007. Print. Wunderman, Jim. California government has failed us. 2008. Web. Read More