Federalism in the News

Read: http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/75212

Should the federal government be able to force people to buy health insurance?

I don't think the federal government should be able to force people to buy health insurance. However, I do think that it is the government's responsibility to make sure that the citizens have options for health insurance. I believe that everyone should have health insurance, but I don't know that forcing it on Americans is the best system. Having the availability to health insurance is an important and basic right that every citizen should have. If people aren't willing to go and buy their own, the government should provide an option for them.

Read: http://reason.com/archives/2010/09/24/federalism-and-medical-marijua

Should the federal government tell states what drugs are illegal?

Initially I would have to say no-- the federal government should not tell states what drugs are illegal. However, when I really thought about this question, I changed my mind. If each state had the power to determine what drugs were illegal, there would be major issues regarding medications. For instance, let's say Florida declares marijuana illegal but California declares marijuana legal. If a doctor prescribes marijuana to a cancer patient in an unauthorized state, there might be legal problems and difficulties in obtaining the drug. This discrepancy could ultimately hurt the patient's health. The federal government should tell states what drugs are illegal just to make sure that medical prescription availability is universal. The last thing we want is a sick patient to be a criminal.

Proposition 8

Proposition 8 is a classic case of judicial review in the modern era. Unlike Marbury v. Madison which was one branch overruling another branch, this is at a much deeper level. This is the Federal Judiciary overruling the will of the people.

Should the judiciary be able to overturn a popularly selected change to a states' constitution? If so, why? If not, why not?

No, the judiciary branch should not be able to overturn a popularly selected change to a states’ constitution in normal instances. However if the popularly selected change arose as a problem under the Constitution, the judiciary should overturn the will of the people.

What Constitutional grounds does the judiciary have for overruling the will of the people? Are there any other cases that you can find that are similar to this case? (can be a different issue)

According to Article III of the Constitution, the Supreme Court is given the judicial power to rule under “all cases arising from the Constitution.” Because Proposition 8 breaks the Equal Protection Clause, which is part of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the judiciary has the power to intervene. The Equal Protection Clause can be seen as an attempt to secure the proposition that "all men are created equal" by empowering the judiciary to enforce that principle against the states. As written it applies only to state governments, but it has since been interpreted to apply to the federal government as well.

Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee (1816) is a similar case. The issue involved was whether Section 25 of the Judiciary Act of 1789 was constitutionally valid, giving the Supreme Court the right to review the final decisions of state courts. It is the nature of the case and not the court of origin that determines whether the Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction. The states themselves are not equal sovereigns with the federal government, but rather subject to its law-making capability. Even if the state courts do not abuse the power of the Constitution, they are likely to rule differently on it from state to state. Therefore, the need for uniformity in decisions requires an “ultimate single court of last resort” which exercises review over all states. There is also substantial historical evidence that the framers intended the Supreme Court to review state court decisions.

Should we have a Federal definition of marriage to clarify this issue for all US citizens? Compare this to another instance where the Federal Government had to create a rule for everyone in the country.

We shouldn’t have a Federal definition of marriage to clarify this issue for all U.S. citizens. Marriage is deeply personal. Everyone should have the fundamental freedom to get married if they choose. The Constitution should guarantee the same rights to everyone. It is completely unfair to discriminate gays and lesbians, just as it was completely unfair to prohibit African Americans and women from voting. “Equality under the law” is a constitutional guarantee that is not difficult to understand. If people do not understand it and need a definition to clarify the issue, the U.S. has a serious problem.

Is the Constitution Alive or Dead?

As Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection states, organisms must adapt to survive or else they will perish. The Constitution has survived for more than 200 years because of several necessary modifications. To this day, the Constitution is very much alive because it continues to shape the country’s changing needs and circumstances.

Some constitutional issues, such as a suitable balance of authority between the state and federal governments, remain as unsettled as they were when the Constitution was originally written. Today’s government must also adapt and interpret the Constitution to confront issues never anticipated by the founding fathers.

Sometimes political problems develop that seem impossible to tackle without constitutional change. These political issues, such as the campaign finance reform, are not easily resolved and remain continuing sources of controversy.

When presidents appoint new members to the Supreme Court, the change in structure of the Court sometimes leads to a dramatic turn in constitutional interpretation. For more than a century, the Court consistently maintained the supremacy of the federal government over the states. However in recent cases, the federal government’s authority has been limited to powers directly granted in the Constitution. The states hold powers assigned to them as well as any powers not mentioned in the Constitution, except those directly prohibited. This may ultimately lead to a new definition of federalism.

In A Lasting Document from 1988 Collier’s Year Book, political science professor Richard H. Leach discusses how the Constitution remains a living document more than 200 years later and shows no signs yet of being replaced.

As Donald Lutz, a scholar of the Constitution, points out, the document drafted in 1787 was no more than ‘an incomplete text.’ The status of blacks, the situation of native Americans, uncertainty about illegal aliens and about the rights of the accused, the role of religion in politics—the failures to address these and other controversial issues, says Lutz, are ‘reflections of the Constitution's incompleteness.’

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. [Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court] similarly stated, “When we are dealing with … a constituent act, like the Constitution of the United States, we must realize that [the framers] … called into life as being the development of which could not have been foreseen completely by the most gifted of its begetters. It was enough for them … to hope that they had created an organism [that would survive and develop].”

The Constitution was only to be “the foundation of the more perfect union it sought to establish.” The signing and ratification of the document did not—and were not intended to—end the writing of it. The Constitution’s development has continued since 1787 and will continue to be modified and enforced in the future.

Leach makes a good point by mentioning that the very nature of the document helped give the Constitution strength and vitality. The framers managed to use general wording instead of specifics, which would have “stapled the Constitution firmly to the 18th century.”

Leach believes that it has been through the agencies of interpretation and amplification that the “breath of new life” has continually been given to the Constitution. Today, as a result of agents of change, the Constitution is quite different from what it was under the framers. To this day, the process of change still goes on.

Finally, Leach makes it clear that the framers, while leaving the Constitution they drafted incomplete, did not want to make the process of alteration too easy.

“How an instrument drafted to meet the needs and concerns of an agrarian country in crisis at the end of the 18th century can be adapted to undergird solutions to the problems of today's urban and technological society remains a difficult question.”


Works Cited:
A Lasting Document by Richard H. Leach
Source: 1988 Collier’s Year Book.

Lieberman, Jethro K. "Constitution of the United States." Microsoft® Student 2009. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

The Government in My Life

Love it or hate it, the US Government is all over you. In your first blog post, think about your day from beginning to end and write about all the ways that the government impacts you. Think about small things like brushing your teeth (FDA) to big things like paved roads (DOT) on your way to school today. Create a list of your daily routine and then research the different ways in which the Federal government touches you.

Eating meals, brushing teeth, applying make-up
Food & Drug Administration (FDA)- protects public heath by ensuring the safety of drugs, biological products, food supply, tobacco, and cosmetics.

Driving on roads to places
Department of Transportation (DOT)- ensures a fast, safe, efficient, accessible and convenient transportation system that meets our vital national interests and enhances the quality of life of the American people, today and into the future.

Driving past the Harford County Detention Center
Federal Bureau of Prisons- protects society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community-based facilities that are safe, humane, cost- efficient, and appropriately secure, and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens.

Attending school and classes
Department of Education (ED)- promotes student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

Working at Coffee Coffee
U.S. Department of Labor/Bureau of Labor Statistics- pay and benefits

Brad's Produce to pick up crop share

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)- protects American plants and animals

Mailing a letter at the Post office

Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee-issuance of postage stamps

United States Postal Service (USPS)

Shopping at Target/running errands/buying things

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission- protects the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)- consumer protection

Aberdeen Proving Grounds

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)- energy and nuclear security; science discovery and innovation

Going to Rite-Aid, Wal-greens, CVS pharmacy to get a prescription/medical insurance

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)- protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

Living in my home/neighborhood

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-mission is to create strong, sustainable communities and quality affordable homes for all.

Hiking at Rocks State Park in Forest Hill

U.S. Department of the Interior/Environmental Protection Agency/National Park Service- protects America’s natural resources and heritage, honors our cultures and tribal communities, and supplies the energy to power our future.

Applying for financial aid for college

Federal Student Aid (FSA)- include grants, loans, and work study to help students pay for education beyond high school

Handling money to buy things

Department of the Treasury

Communicating with my cousin in Malawi

Peace Corps- serving the U.S. in the cause of peace by living and working in developing countries

http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml