Process Of Cooperative Federalism

Cooperative Federalism was the “Marble Cake Model”. The Chocolate layer (National Government) and the Vanilla layer (States’ Government) were swirled together. The national government has become incorporated with the state and local governments, making it difficult to tell where one type of government begins and the other types end. State and local governments oversee many federal programs, for example, and the states depend on federal funds thus needing the two governments to help each other out and collectively work

Federalism is a concept that refers to a system of government in which power is shared between the national and non-national governments. Cooperative Federalism is a model of federalism in which all governments are linked and participate in the administration of programs. Creative federalism was a term used to describe the Great Society program of Lyndon Johnson. President Johnson sought to devolve powers to the states using creative federalism. The devolution of responsibilities to the states began under President Nixon but were accelerated in the 1980s under President Reagan. Ronald Reagan 's brand of new federalism dramatically decreased the use of categorical grants. Federalism under President Obama is still in the development stage, but the 2009 Federal Stimulus Plan can best be described as new federalism, creative, federalism, and general revenue sharing. There are four controversial examples of federalism at work today.

Federalism has evolved throughout American history. At different points in time, the balance and boundaries between the national and state government have changed substantially (resulting in the dual federalism, cooperative federalism etc.). Dual federalism which can also be referred to as divided sovereignty draws a clear distinction between federal and state governments, with the state government exercising the powers given to them without the influence of the federal government. It can further be supported by the Tenth Amendment which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States, respectively, or to the people.” Cooperative Federalism is defined as the cooperative functioning of the state, national and local governments. The American ensemble functions according to the New Dual Cooperative Federalism.

The Monroe Doctrine and Washington’s Farewell Address, though circulated years apart, both were important playing pieces in the pronouncement of independence from the European colonies. The Monroe Doctrine was a significant document explaining how the United States would view any endeavor at European colonial expansion. Washington’s Farewell Address was a document President George Washington used to give advice on what was essential to keep the great independent government the Americans had begun. Both documents were fairly consistent with one another, giving adequate insight to the future of the United States.

When a person thinks of marble cake they think of a perfectly mixed cake of both chocolate and vanilla. But the definition of marble cake is a cake with a streaked or mottled appearance achieved by a very light blending of light and dark cake batter. This metaphor of a marble cake also describes the many government's administrative systems that are used today. (Cronkhite, 2013)  In Morton Grodzins “A New View of Government, which is a connection to the open systems approach to most governmental agencies (Cronkhite, 2013) The marble cake federalism is a combination of powers, resources, and programs among the state, national and local governments. (Cronkhite, 2013) On the federalism level, the powers are divided between the government with one being the central and the other being the regional or as some might call it the sub-divisional governments, just like the chocolate and vanilla cake batter. (Weissert, 2011) This type of government forms a collaboration with all levels of the government in the decision-making process. (Weissert, 2011) His development of the marble-cake federalism describes the cooperative and the various levels of government that resulted in an overlapping of activities. (Weissert, 2011)

When problems arise in our nation, we are left with a complicated crisis as to whose job it is to do what and who exactly should be taking care of any bad situation that seems to pop up with daily life anywhere in the world, but in this case, America. Certain governmental systems, such as Federalism, can be considered a solution to these crises. Federalism can be defined as the relationship between the individual state governments of America and the national or federal government of the United States; and works to balance the power of a large central government, and the power of the smaller regional governments.

There are a variety of differences and similarities between federal, state, and local governments. This includes, but is not limited to, the responsibilities, size, and staff of the administration. The machinery of government is intended to better the quality of citizen’s lives. Ultimately, federal, state, and local governments were established to work together in bettering programs and laws (Berkley & Rouse, 2009, p.32).

Federalism can be said to be the defining feature of all forms of American politics. Even as a literary characteristic feature, America was the first nation to adopt federalism as a concept. Federalism is a system of government whereby political power is divided between a national government and other smaller political constituents such as states. Federalism, although not mentioned exactly in the constitution, was supposed to be a concept that addressed the errors of the confederation (Platt, 2014). It was also supposed to be the lay the groundwork for what would be the future of America. As it was expected to be, federalism has had an impact on the American politics even as far as elections are concerned. There were some key reasons that

The Four Coercive acts were passed in 1774 by the British Parliament, as a direct response to the Boston Tea Party that took place in December 1773. The British Parliament was furious and forced Massachusetts to pay for the tea and to submit to imperial authority. A Port Bill closed the Boston Harbor, the Government Act prohibited many town meetings, the Quartering Act required the colonist to house, feed, and build barracks for the British troops, with no say, and the Justice Acts allowed trials for capital crimes to be transferred to other colonies or Britain. This outraged the colonist, as each law violated exactly what John Locke had stated the government shouldn’t do, it was a violation of their constitutional rights, and colonial charters.

This is where “the National and State Governments sharing functions and collaborating on major national priorities” (Annenberg Learner). Cooperative Federalism is different from Duel Federalism due to the way the National and State Government work together rather than apart. Since in Duel federalism where the governments do their own things, in Cooperative Federalism, the government's work together to resolve problems. The next type of federalism is, Regulated Federalism.

Cooperative Federalism Federalism in which the powers of the states and the national government are intertwined like the swirls in a marble cake.

2. Please explain the differences in these three stages of federalism – dual federalism, cooperative federalism, and regulated federalism.

In my perspective, I assume that I lean more on the side of being a cooperative federalist rather than a dual federalist because of the fact that I believe that the constitution is not a fixed document, and I believe that having a larger, more unified government will hopefully help give the authority to the people instead of each state on an individual level. In a more in depth definition, a cooperative federalism favors national supremacy, assumes states will cooperate with federal regulations, believes in giving power to the people, and has a wider range of implied powers. On the opposite side, dual federalism believes mostly in the opposite idea of cooperative federalism: favors states’ rights, views constitution as a fixed document, and

It is the idea that the all the levels of governments are constantly overlapping each other. The Cooperative Federalism system allowed the national government to use states to further their agenda. If states wanted funding, they would have to cooperate with the government to receive that funding. This was to take away the power that corrupt legislatures. The National government becomes involved with certain state powers to keep potentially corrupted government in check and to promote equality.

While the issue of distribution of responsibilities and powers in federal political, system is generally contentions, a gross mismatch between the two can lead to serious tensions. The federal dialogue with the states is often pre - empted by central administrative and policy decisions. The Centre often decided on a particular course of action and only thereafter seeks inputs from the States. Consensus building is after the decision, not before. This mode of decision is not in favour of federalism .