ፍትህ ለሁሉም / Justice for All
Introduction: In recent decades, the United States has seen a trend toward increasing federalization of the financing of government programs, even as states continue to control the administration of those programs. This can be seen in the most basic fact that federal spending as a share of total government spending has increased from 65 percent …
Introduction: The healthcare sector comprises a prominent segment of the American economy, touching all people’s lives and supporting their health and well-being. This sector currently consumes nearly one-fifth of the US GDP, with its share continually rising. In 2019, the healthcare sector employed 11 percent of American workers, and healthcare spending accounted for 8.1 percent …
The United States certainly has infrastructure needs. The American Society of Civil Engineers, serious if somewhat self-interested, rates the nation’s infrastructure a C− in its 2021 report card (ASCE 2021). Some claim there is a multitrillion-dollar “infrastructure deficit,” and others have blamed inadequate public investment in infrastructure for holding back US economic productivity (e.g., Aschauer …
In many ways, the US system of K–12 education looks to be a case study in the strengths and weaknesses of having a federalist system of governance and finance. Decisions about education are made at all levels of government. And views on the balance of decision making have changed over time. The question that we …
A word about the title of my paper. It departs rather substantially from the assigned title (“What Ever Happened to Previous Calls for a ‘New Federalism?’”), as well as the prior assumptions with which I began work on this project. That original title fitted comfortably with what might be called a standard historical approach: review …
Introduction: The proper distribution of state versus federal authority affects nearly every policy domain—from environmental regulation to immigration policy—in American politics today. With the COVID-19 pandemic, the subject of federalism received renewed attention as policymakers across different levels of government jockeyed over the “appropriate” policy response and their inherent authority to carry out that response …
Long an exemplar of successful political and economic governance, democratic capitalism is facing renewed critiques and challenges, both internal and external. Externally, it is argued that democratic capitalism is in decline, sclerotic, unable to make important decisions quickly enough given internal squabbling and excessive focus on material reward. The argument continues that it will be …
When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787, they faced three broad choices regarding the relation of the states to the Union. First, they could create a single consolidated nation along the lines of England or France—perhaps preserving existing state governments as administrative units, perhaps breaking them up …
Welcome to the Weekly Constitutional, where a judgment or other formal document is taken as a starting point for exploring a matter of law and policy. This week the text is this 2021 judgment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Should a government be able to pick and choose which court orders it will comply …
How do the wealthy few come to rule, and why does it matter? Aristotle tackled these questions 2300 years ago, and his answers are still eye-opening today. In this video, we explore Aristotle’s book “Politics,” where he breaks down different types of government, including oligarchy – when the rich call the shots. Aristotle didn’t just …