POLS 207 Lecture 5
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
« previous | Tuesday, September 11, 2012 | next »
PSA: Public Policy Internship Program
Exam Discussions
Random guessing is great in college, but in the job industry it is not an option.
Federalism
Federal law is supreme. If the National gov't passes a law, then everyone must follow
Anything not given to the national government is reserved for states
- Strong leadership is good, but not too strong (articles of confederation was not unifying)
The States created the federal government as a uniting agent
Federal government should not simply tell citizens what to do: states should have enough leeway since they're all different, but they shouldn't run wild
Federal Responsibilities
- National Defense
- Space Program
- Postal Service
State Responsibilities
- Welfare? (not a state responsibility for this class)
- Education
- Health
- Police & Corrections
- Highways & Transportation
- Fire Departments
Laws and Money
- Constitutional Law (supreme law)
- Delegated Powers (given to gov't)
- Reserved Powers (given to people)
- Statutory Law (legislation; passed bills)
- Regulatory Law (agencies)
- Common Law (based in contractual law between individuals)
20,000 to 30,000 passed laws are regulations; they dominate the legal landscape
Is legislature getting more power recently or executive?