American Politics Today - Essentials (3rd Ed)

WHAT IS FEDERALISM AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?| 59

NATIONAL AND STATE RESPONSIBILITIES

National Government Powers State Government Powers Concurrent Powers

Print money Issue licenses Collect taxes

Regulate interstate commerce and
international trade

Regulate intrastate (within the state)

businesses

Build roads

Make treaties and conduct foreign policy Conduct elections Borrow money

Declare war Establish local governments Establish courts

Provide an army and navy Ratify amendments to the Constitution Make and enforce laws

Establish post offi ces Promote public health and safety Charter banks and corporations

Make laws necessary and proper to carry
out these powers

May exert powers the Constitution does

not delegate to the national government

or does not prohibit the states from using

Spend money for the general welfare;

take private property for public purposes,

with just compensation

NUTS & bolts

Powers Denied to the National Government Powers Denied to State Governments

3.1

May not violate the Bill of Rights May not enter into treaties with other countries

May not impose export taxes among states May not print money

May not use money from the Treasury without an appropriation
from Congress

May not tax imports or exports

May not change state boundaries May not interfere with contracts

May not suspend a person’s rights without due process

Source: GPO Access: Guide to the U.S. Government, http://bensguide.gpo.gov/3-5/government/federalism.html (accessed 12/5/11).

are many problems associated with having such a weak national government
(see Chapter 2), few successful modern examples exist. The Commonwealth of
Independent States (CIS), which formed in 1991 after the breakup of the Soviet
Union, was initially successful as a confederal structure, but rifts among the
member states today are making it largely ineff ective.^5
Although true confederations are rare, intergovernmental organizations
have proliferated in recent decades. More than 1,200 multilateral organizations
have been created by member nations seeking to coordinate their policies on, for
example, economic activity, security, or environmental protection. The United
Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the North Atlantic

intergovernmental

organizations Organizations that

seek to coordinate policy across

member nations.