Explain how federalism impacts relationships between the central and state governments.

Answer 1

That can be a very involved answer. A quick description would be that due to federalism, there are some governmental actions that can only involve the central government (raising a military, interstate commerce, etc.) and the state government is unable to have any control. There are also some actions in which the state government has total control over and the federal government has no influence over (although throughout most US history, the federal government has inched its way into some of these rights). The shared responsibilities is where things get the most sticky. Shared responsibilities (taxation, roads, etc.) can sometimes lead to conflict between the 2 different types of government and can sometimes lead to Supreme Court cases to decide the constitutional authority.

Answer 2

Hi Mikaya!

Ken B.'s answer above is great, and I'd like to piggyback on a few things he wrote about.

Sometimes the labels to explain governmental actions can clarify the different roles of the federal, state, and local governments. However, there are times when those different roles can cause conflict and confusion.

Here are the labels:

Delegated powers--only the federal government has these powers. (See Ken's explanation on these 3, above)

Concurrent powers-- powers shared by the federal, state, and local governments

Reserved powers--powers that are left to the states and the people, powers that the federal government has not taken.

I'll add to what Ken said above about the stickiness of the shared or concurrent powers. Many times the federal government gives monetary aid to the states to run certain programs, such as education. Education is usually a state/local power function. However, because the money comes from the federal government, the federal government has certain requirements about how the money is used, and can force states to obey those requirements and regulations. Other times the federal government has given block grants to states to administer certain federal programs (Medicare and Medicaid) as the states see fit. It can drive people crazy!

Follow the money in this situation.

And yes, sometimes the conflict has to be settled by the Supreme Court.