- Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
A citizen’s job in a federal system is to elect representatives and decision-makers at the state and federal levels. In a confederation, the people maintain the most authority. They select representatives with absolute power for their states. Last but not least, the people have the least influence in a unitary government. The national government held all of its power. Due to this, residents and local governments become dependent on the federal government.
- Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
By letting us know that the government does not have complete control over the authority a country possesses, the article aids in our understanding of the division of power. States do in reality have power. This indicates that the constitution divides power between the federal government and the states.The system of political power allocation is known as the division of labor. Federalism is described as “an institutional system that produces two substantially autonomous levels of government” in the reading. The subnational/state government deals with issues that “lie with their regions,” which means the local government is in charge of taking care of citizen needs like public safety, education, health care, homelessness, and housing. The national government deals with issues that affect the entire country.
- How does the federal government shape the actions of state and local governments? Write your answer based on doing a bit of research on how the federal government has influenced the actions of NY state and local governments, during the COVID-19 pandemic?
By providing funding to run federal programs, the federal government influences the decisions made by state and municipal governments. By giving funding and helping individuals who had jobs return to them, the federal government helped NY state and its local governments during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, they influence states by offering advice during particular occasions. For instance, the CDC, a federal body, advised social withdrawal and mask use during COVID 19. As a result, the state of New York and other governments issued regulations on social distance and mask requirements.
