Local Government Vs. Federal Government

Mr. Dictator · Jul 12, 2006

ok, so i realized this a while ago.

what affects an individual more? federal or local government?

obviously it's the local but, at least in my area, the local government is almost entirely forgotten and the federal is given all the attention.

that seems strange to me.

even though i can see why people care about the bigger problems i still dont see why people dont get involved more with the stuff thats happening right down the street.

ok, so the poll is only to see what you think is more important, at least in your life.

Elta · Jul 12, 2006

A balance. We need that yin and yang, samething with the balance of rightwing and left wing.

ybbor · Jul 12, 2006

Mr. Dictator said:
obviously it's the local but,

hmm? what does the local government do? they give me a police department, school system, and library, but that seems about it. The federal government builds roads, restricts/insures my freedoms, takes a healthy portion of my income and subsidizes the groceries I pay for every day. My life wouldn't be that different if I were to take another town's laws instead of my own, but it would be vastly different if I were to take another country's laws

Mr. Dictator · Jul 12, 2006

ybbor said:
hmm? what does the local government do? they give me a police department, school system, and library, but that seems about it. The federal government builds roads, restricts/insures my freedoms, takes a healthy portion of my income and subsidizes the groceries I pay for every day. My life wouldn't be that different if I were to take another town's laws instead of my own, but it would be vastly different if I were to take another country's laws

true but if the laws in the town change wouldnt you be affected.

the local government also determines zoning and all that kind of stuff.

and i guess i should have included state too. just think of state as local........even though its not really.......ohwell.

Methos · Jul 12, 2006

It's called the supremacy clause (Article VI, Clause 2, of the US Constitution) which makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws.

Souron · Jul 12, 2006

Well the US balances power between local government, national government, and an inbetween entity called "states".

I believe each should have a certian amout of power.

Atlas14 · Jul 12, 2006

Definately a balance. At local level, I want politicians to elimate/drastically controll growth of our county, and keep commercial/industrial growth very low too. At the federal level we need sustainable economy, energy resources, and laws. Sustainability is the key on the local and federal level, without either though, i'd be affected for the worse.

Souron · Jul 12, 2006

Methos said:
It's called the supremacy clause (Article VI, Clause 2, of the US Constitution) which makes the Constitution and federal laws superior to all conflicting state and local laws.

That does not mean the fedral government must be more powerfull then the states. In fact when that clause was written, it wasn't. It wasn't untill the US Civil War.

Methos · Jul 12, 2006

Souron said:
That does not mean the fedral government must be more powerfull then the states. In fact when that clause was written, it wasn't. It wasn't untill the US Civil War.

True, up until the Civil War the states had the power, but that has nothing to do with the question in the OP.

what affects an individual more? federal or local government?

IMO, the supremacy clause has merit in his/her question. It doesn't matter about the time period when it was written, but its affect now.

Colonel · Jul 12, 2006

The U.S. Federal Government should have the most power as it does, the state and local governments are nearly pointless. More importantly allowing the states to much power creates to many problems as was seen with the US Civil War.

Methos · Jul 13, 2006

Colonel said:
More importantly allowing the states to much power creates to many problems as was seen with the US Civil War.

Oh my, is this what they are teaching in school now??? :lol:

Fugitive Sisyphus · Jul 13, 2006

Methos said:
Oh my, is this what they are teaching in school now???

Of course, if States have any degree of independence, they might decide that they don't want to be part of the United States and leave.

This is a bad thing according to Colonel.

Souron · Jul 13, 2006

By that logic, they should make the EU more federalist.

Dionysius · Jul 13, 2006

FugitivSisyphus said:
Of course, if States have any degree of independence, they might decide that they don't want to be part of the United States and leave.

This is a bad thing according to Colonel.

I think hes referring to some states choosing to keep slavery and others not,
creating a rift from which came the confederacy.

IglooDame · Jul 13, 2006

I've lived for significant periods of time (2+ years) in something like six different states, and shorter amounts of time in three others. I think that it's too difficult a question to answer. The difference between the US (i.e. the Feds) and other countries is sometimes more, sometimes less than the differences between some states and others, and differences between towns can either be zero or quite dramatic.

In Vermont I can carry a pistol concealed without a permit. In Washington D.C. I will go to jail just for owning a bullet. In New Hampshire I don't pay a state income tax, in Massachusetts I do. In Alaska I get paid a dividend from the state's oil revenue annually, in Texas I am eligible for the death penalty for asking about one.

jalapeno_dude · Jul 13, 2006

Of course there should be a healthy balance. The question is: what exactly is that balance?

sysyphus · Jul 13, 2006

While federal governments control larger issues, the day to day lives of people are far more impacted by their local governments. Usually when something annoys me and I want to correspond with a government representative I notice more often than not it's my local councillor rather than my MP.

Of course, Canada would do well to rid ourselves of those useless middlemen known as provinces.

Local Government Vs. Federal Government

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Federal

A healthy balance

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