Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Federalism The United States is such a big country. It would be impossible for just one person to govern all fifty states. Federalism divides power so it can make it easier for each state to be governed. Federalism is good on some many different levels. Although federalism provides comfort and ultimately makes sense there are also some disadvantages to the system. One of the advantages of federalism is power is given to local officials. Because of the diversity of the United States it is important to have officials in places that are there for the greater good of the people. By placing local officials in the area it gives them opportunity to actually know what’s going in their state thus putting them closer in the event where problems may arise. Another advantage is that state will have chance to experiment with different policies that fits their individual state. For example in the 1990’s where government Tommy Thompson experimented with the implementation of a welfare policy. Later, this experimentation lead to a federal welfare reform. Or recently some states have adopted laws such as conceal and carry and making marijuana a legal drug. Giving states authority to test out new ideas helps the United States prosper as a whole. One when states passes a law that works for them it gives other states the chance to also test out these laws to see if it would work for them. Federalism also does a good job at decreasing the chances of tyranny. If one person ever came into power of all three branches the government would still be able to function independently. Citizens tend to view federalism as freedom. There are so many governments in the United States there it is impossible for just one person or group to gain all power such as Adolf Hitler did in the 1930s with Germany. Federalism seems like it does so much good for the United
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