In a federal system, the power is shared among the citizens and the national as well as local governments. In a confederation, the citizens are mainly concerned with the local governments as the central government is weak. In a unitary system, the citizens are mainly concerned with the central government. In other words, the power of the citizens depends on the distribution of power. The division of power means dividing the power of the government between different levels, such as the national and local levels, so that no level has all the power. This allows each level to make decisions in its area while sharing some powers. This ensures that there is no abuse of power and that the people can participate in decision-making at different levels of government. But there is still a possibility of abuse of power if the levels or the leaders overreach or disregard the limits of power. Lastly, the federal government helps state and local governments by providing advice, money, and rules, but its ability to do so also depends on its speed of reaction. In the case of COVID-19 in New York, the slow federal government reaction meant that the state had to deal with overwhelmed hospitals, landfills, and lack of tests on its own. The federal government rules also guided the reopening of states and the distribution of vaccines, but its slow reaction meant that states became more confused and experienced more stress, which shows that the federal government can only provide rules and money, but its slow reaction can cause states to take drastic measures on their own.