POLS 1101 Lecture 5 Outline of Last Lecture I What is Federalism II Contrast A Confederation B Unitary System III Centralization of Political Control IV Dynamics of Federalism A Dual Federalism B Cooperative Federalism C Intergovernmentalism V Responsibilities of the Government VI Limits of Federalism VII State Governments VIII Local Governments Outline of Current Lecture I Puzzle II Federalism as Response to Collective Dilemmas A Prisoner s Dilemma B Collective Action Problems C Free Rider Problems III Federalism and Competition IV Laboratories of Democracy V A The Emergence of State Lotteries Differing Preferences and Coordinated Policy VI Do people get what they want VII Federal influence on States Spending A Grant in Aid B Catergorial Grants C Revenue Sharing D Block Grants VIII E Contrast Revisiting the Puzzle Current Lecture Federalism in Practice I Puzzle II The constitutions creates a split system between the states and the federal government Why have the states and the American people allowed the federal government s power to grow in the past century Federalism as Response to Collective Dilemmas Increased federal authority can help solve collective dilemmas a Prisoner s dilemma Prevent states units from going to war with each other b Collective action problem Protect states units from outside aggression Can provide a common national defense c Free rider problem Set national standards for labor and environmental laws States face individual incentives and would ideally like to be laxed in terms of labor laws and environmental laws so cost of business is lower which will bring in money Sets baseline so that all states get the same amount of protection and get proportionate amount of business Air Polluters in GA can cause a free rider problem 33 31 32 Latitude 34 35 White dots are solid waste polluters black plus signs are air polluters 85 84 83 82 81 Longitude III IV Solution In 1970 acts for federal clean air act passed so you don t see this pattern after 1970 1980ish Federalism and Competition Competition and innovation across states has mixed effects Did their policies work for the economy What happened as outcomes Example George Bush No Child Left Behind Act Contagious to other states or even to the federal government Experimentation in states can produce evidence for new effective policies Competition for industry can reduce tax base Race to the top bottom The states start to have laxer business regulations other incentives for economic development End up relaxing regulations to where wages for workers aren t as high as they should be etc National Boundary I e Minimum Wage Laboratories of Democracy A The Emergence of State Lotteries Different policies can be contagious 50 40 30 20 Number of States With Lotteries 10 0 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 Year V VI Differing Preferences and Coordinated Policy In many policy areas coming to no solution is problematic Liberal Conservations have solutions but the federal government hasn t really adopted a solution to certain things I e Arizona has adopted a harsh line on immigration Different locales may have different policy preferences In some cases devolution can eliminate a national level coordination problem Do people get what they want Opinion Liberalism vs Policy Liberalism 6 CA NY 2 WV SC 0 4 OK MS ND SD IN ID AL UT TNAR LA NC RI NJ NH MI OH PA WI AZ KY VA GA 10 ME WAIL CO MO IA NE KS TX MD DE NM VT MA CT OR MT 2 Public Policy Liberalism 4 MN WY 0 NV FL 10 20 Public Opinion Liberalism VII VIII Federal Influence on State Spending Grants in Aid Most general funding General programs e g infrastructure Categorical Grants have more strings attached School lunches Revenue Sharing Joint endeavor where they both invest money Interstate highways Block Grants loosen up the way a particular program is funded 1995 welfare reform Contrast Unfunded Mandates Federal government will pass a law that is required and we re not going to pay you but you have to do it All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 many requirements for what had to be available for children getting an education with disabilities drinking age 21 or you don t get housing Revisiting the Puzzle Why has the power of national government grown Collective dilemmas among the states 17th Amendment National elections that focus on national problems solutions Vagueness of the Constitution has made it difficult to check federal power