- Describe the primary differences in the role of citizens in government, among the federal, confederation, and unitary systems.
In a unitary system, citizens gives power to the national government. All power and sovereignty belong to the national government, which might, however, delegate some powers to the geographical units but, it has the authority to take this power back at any time and central government has all the power to make laws and decision for the people. While In a federal government, the power and sovereignty the citizens give, are constitutionally divided between the national (federal) government, state and local. Another way to say it, in a federal system, a national government and the state governments share power. Power to make laws and decisions for the people is shared between a central authority and regional authorities. In a confederal country, the power and sovereignty belong mostly to the states, which, however, delegated some limited powers to the national government. Confederation system, the vast majority of power rests with the states. Individual states make their own laws and decision and are loosely aligned to a weak central government.
2. Briefly explain how you understand the system of division of power.
I understand the system of division of power of the United States is composed of three groups: The Legislative Branch, The Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch. The Legislative is a branch where we find the Congressmen. There are 100 Senators and 435 Representative in the Legislative branch. Their role consist of passing National budget, declare war. The Judicial branch is called the court system. There are different levels of courts. The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. The courts review laws, explain laws and decide if a law goes against the Constitution. The Supreme Court has nine justices or judges and they serve for life or until they retire. Another branch is the Executive one. This last one includes the president, vice president, the Cabinet, executive departments. The executive branch carries out and enforces laws. All these branches have limited power and must follow the laws of the Constitution. Also, there is a balance within them, one depends on the other.
3. 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.
The federal government ensures cooperation of state and local governments by providing funds to operate federal programs. One way that the federal government can influence the states is through the distribution of grants, incentives, and aid. State and local governments are eager to obtain federal dollars. An example is during Covid-19 pandemic, the Fed’s actions ensured that credit continued to flow to households and businesses, preventing financial market disruptions from intensifying the economic damage. They give people with student loan a break. They inject funds into the financial system in an effort to calm the market. The president provided funding to authorities already fighting to contain the outbreak and allocated some part of funding for vaccine research. The The Primary Dealer Credit Facility was established to support the credit needs of U.S. householders and businesses by allowing primary dealers to support smooth market functioning and facilitate the availability of credit to businesses and households was established to support the credit needs of U.S. householders and businesses by allowing primary dealers to support smooth market functioning and facilitate the availability of credit to businesses and households. The IRS issued economic impact payments during the coronavirus pandemic for people who were eligible.
Sources: https://www.brookings.edu/research/fed-response-to-covid19/
