Is Federalism Important?

Column for week of June 30, 2014

     In a recent column I explored the history of federalism in
the US.  The US started as a federation of sovereign states
created by the states.  The states delegated a few powers to the
federal government.  That federal government grew into a
national government that rules the states as mere administrative
districts of the nation.

     Now individual states can chart their own courses only if
the national government lets them.  Federalism was stood on its
head and beaten to death.  Does it matter?  Should we care?

     Those who want the national government to force
uniformity onto the entire nation cheer the death of federalism. 
Uniformity in itself has no virtue.  Who wants to be uniformly
sick or broke?

     Considering the wasteful inefficiency, incompetence, and
corruption of government, What are the chances of the national
government imposing uniform goodness on the nation?  It hasn't
happened yet in the entire history of the world.  History screams
that government imposed uniformity is mostly exploitation of
the weak by the powerful.  That is just as true in a democracy as
in a dictatorship.

     Not everyone wants to live under the same rules.  Why
should everyone have the same rules shoved down their throats
by "do it my way or I will hurt you" government?  We should
also keep in mind that people in government seek first to serve
their own interests, not the interests of voters and taxpayers.

     There is an even greater problem.  It is impossible for
anyone to know in advance which choices will work out best. 
When everyone is forced to follow the same plan, we have
nothing for comparison.  We can only speculate about whether
another plan would work better.

     A robust federalism would allow the various states to
experiment with different laws, or lack of laws.  It would be a
matter of survival for all states to copy the successful ones. 
People would be drawn from the unsuccessful states to the
successful ones.

     It has been happening for years.  To the great annoyance
of some, the national government hasn't fully exercised its power
to force total uniformity.

     Many are annoyed that the national government hasn't
undertaken to enforce marijuana prohibition in Colorado.  Under
the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution the
national government has the power to prosecute anyone in
Colorado who uses marijuana.

     So far the national government has settled for harassing
marijuana businesses in Colorado.  It keeps them from using
bank accounts and threatens to seize property they use.

     However legal marijuana plays out in Colorado, it will be
a learning experience for everyone.  There are bound to be some
growing pains in legalizing marijuana.  It is far better to test the
methods in a few states and let the rest learn and avoid the
beginner's mistakes.

     Sometimes it is desirable to have uniform laws
nationwide.  Traffic laws and commercial law are examples.  We
achieved general uniformity in these areas without the
involvement of the national government.  The states considered
what others were doing.  They got together and adopted
uniformity.  If individual states come up with new ideas they are
still free to experiment.

     Once the national government sets a standard, it is nearly
impossible to deviate from it, no matter how bad it is.  We are
seeing this play out in government schools.

     Independent, sovereign states in a federation, provide the
opportunity to avoid some of the worst aspects of government. 
The bottom line is that competition provides the only true
accountability.  Each provider of goods and services should have
to compete with other providers of goods and services.

     True federalism provides a means for compelling
governments to compete with each other.  That competition can
hold governments accountable the same way it holds businesses
accountable.

aldmccallum@gmail.com
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Copyright 2014
Albert D. McCallum