Introduction
Despite the absolute priority of the federal Constitution and federal laws concerning the legal institutions of the states, problems arise in the functioning of the state. This issue can be considered as a situation with the establishment of the drinking age, COVID-19 response, and minimum wage reform. Significant controversies exist between the powers of the federal government and states, affecting the legislation and the nation’s quality of life.
Drinking Age
In terms of the National Drinking Age Act, the federal government incorporated financial methods to regulate the states’ compliance with the proposed law. This law is an example of when Congress directly controls the financing leverage to decrease the drinking age and minimize the risks of accidents due to drunk driving (Resnick & Roller, 2014). Such a situation is caused by the fact that the federal government cannot directly force states to comply with the laws. Such a situation is contradictory in terms of the supposed originally “united” nature of the country.
COVID-19
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic was poor even though the anti-pandemic measures are present in the scope of legislation. The major problem was that the isolation testing measures and insurance issues were activated only in some states. Such a situation was caused by Washington’s lack of consistent regulation (Kettl, 2020). The researchers highlight that “the virus pays attention to the partisan divide,” which results in threats to the nation’s healthcare (Kettl, 2020, para. 4). The response to the pandemic was carried out at the level of the executive branch. At the same time, the actual legislation needs to catch up to the national and local administrative authorities. The major problem lesson that should be learned from COVID is that there should be no political conflicts when natural security exists (Haffaejee & Mello, 2020). As a result, the level of prevention and treatment of coronavirus was implemented in only some states. This situation poses a threat to the future well-being of the nation.
Minimum Wage
Considering the recent debates on increasing the National minimum wage, federalism performs its functions incomprehensively. It is beneficial for the federal government to raise the minimum wage because there will be less need to provide governmental support for people. The employer will pay increased wages, compensating for some of the governmental expenses (The American partnership, 2019). Being led by the potential benefits of increasing minimal salary, the federal government ignores the significant damage such reform will cause to small businesses and the poverty level. In response to such changes, some businesses will raise costs or “lower the quality of the goods or services” (The American partnership, 2019, para. 11). Moreover, it is expected that the companies will fire many people unable to pay wages for many employees. The job loss will result in an increased risk of criminal threats occurrence.
Controversy of Federalism
The American model of federalism is a complex and controversial phenomenon in constant development. One of the most contentious topics in the functioning of the federal government is public finance. Even raising the minimum wage shows how controversial some federal government actions are. For example, on the one hand, the federal government strives to maintain a decent cost of living. However, on the other hand, the small business and poverty issues are only enhanced. As a result of such a reform, the living conditions of many people can worsen despite the increased cost of living.
Another example of the controversy of federalism is a response to COVID-19. The faculty contradictions were in the power distribution between the federal and state responses. A distorted strategy resulted in “significant health consequences resulting from variation in state restrictions, conflicting policies” (Selin, 2020, para. 1). In other words, federalism, which is supposed to grant the states the power of being still united, fails to perform its functions. The situation with the pandemic shows how controversial the relationships between states and the federal government are.
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Power for States
Currently, the states have diversified right to decide many substantial mandate issues without federal government inclusion. The scope of state law covers the areas of family law, inheritance law, contract law, criminal law, land law, company law, insurance law, and securities regulation, to name a few. In the field of private law, the competence of the direction of the states is practically unlimited. The scope of state law, especially in civil and criminal law, the judiciary and the judicial process, is much broader than that of federal law and its accompanying common law. In other words, the states have varied and diversified powers under the federal government’s scope. Granting states even more power seems contradictory to the Constitution of the United States. In order to solve some problems related to the controversy of the federal government, the changes within federalism should be considered.
Conclusion
The analysis shows that federalism in the United States is mainly centered on the interests of the huger states. Moreover, the federal government strives to minimize the general government expenses, leaving aside possible future problems. The COVID-19, drinking age, and minimum wage reforms illustrated the controversy of federalism in the country. Especially the pandemic case, which required a rapid united response from the nation, shows that federalism lacks unity in its current state.
References
Haffajee, R., & Mello, M. (2020). Thinking globally, acting locally: The U.S. response to COVID-19. The New England Journal of Medicine, 382(22). Web.
Kettl, D. (2020). The federalism divide is shading government’s response to COVID-19. Brookings. Web.
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Resnick, C., & Roller, E. (2014). Four times the government held highway funding hostage. The Atlantic. Web.
Selin, J. (2020). How the Constitution’s federalist framework is being tested by COVID-19? Brookings. Web.
The American Partnership. (2019). State and local minimum wage podcast transcript. The American Partnership. Web.