State Government and Politics

Answer 1

The constitutional was formed to create a strong central government. The constitution focused on bringing political and social change. Today, the central government controls everything and the Americans say that the United State could not create the Articles of Confederation but rather, it could focus on a single integrated national or in other words a strong national government (Janda et al. 2009). For example, the articles of confederation was  associated with weaknesses in that it lacked the power to tax, failed to regulate commerce, failed to address foreign affairs, and other problems. For these reasons, the confederation was destroyed and a new government was created. The Convention wrote a constitution which stated that there should be a government with a legislative branch, an executive branch, and a judicial branch (Janda et al. 2009). The state constitutions were displaced and a new constitution created a strong central government that not only addressed the problems of taxation but also addressed the problem of democracy. Therefore, it is worth saying that the central government brought unity and integrity. Furthermore, the constitution created a strong central government that promotes fairness, common welfare, freedom and prosperity, increased citizen participation, separation of powers, and control power through checks and balances (Janda et al. 2009). 

 For example, during the 20th century, the federal government was involved in the education system and a Department of Education was created in Washington. The federal government brought significant changes to the education system. For example, it addressed poverty by establishing legislation 'No Child Left Behind'. The law was designed to support poor children by providing financial aid packages of local schools (Chandra & Rajendra, 2004). A point to note is that Florida can control the education in some areas or in other both the state and the central government should have control.  For example, a state like Florida is capable of identifying the local requirement and establish schools to meet the needs, provide free and universal education, provide financial support, find skilled educators, control the education, and other roles (Chandra & Rajendra, 2004). However, the state lack means and resources for supporting the education. Thus, the states should have an involvement in the education system but the central government should have a strong power as it provides a high level of federal funding (Chandra & Rajendra, 2004). Note that some states have problems of funding and therefore the central government will provide education policy and ensure that all children receive an education.

Answer 2

 

The United States has achieved the goal of Federalist No. 51 where the power should be shared by two distant government and each government should have separate departments. An area that shows that the U.S has achieved a goal is OBAMA CARE.  A point to note is that the issue of OBAMA CARE is between the federal and state governments. For example, the federal government established the health reform (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). However, it was a shared responsibility in that the as the federal government focused on access, quality,  and efficiency as well as resources, rules, and enforcement, the state government concentrated on the personal health services, hospital regulation, health monitoring, disease control, health care financing, and the provision of Medicaid programs to the people (Patel  & Rushefsky, 2014). Even though the Reagan demonstration argues that the federal government aim was to cut the budget, there is an evidence that the federal government ensures access to healthcare through addressing the financial burden. For example, the federal government came up with a universal coverage program. It then forced the States to follow this plan. A point to note is that the federal government has a greater responsibility in creating health policies that promote equality and quality of care, provision of resources, control the rising healthcare costs, and promote consumer-driven healthcare (Patel & Rushefsky, 2014). A point to note is that the Obama healthcare reform has been a success because the government has shared responsibility.

Answer 3

 The Founding Father such as Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and others would not be happy with the idea that legalizing marijuana is illegal. This is because the Founding Fathers used marijuana for medical purposes-in specific, they used hemp (Marion & Hill, 2019). George Washington also used marijuana for medicinal purposes. In the 1880s, marijuana was available in drug stores and pharmacists could sell the medicine to treat skill inflammation, cholera, depression, nausea, and other illnesses (Marion & Hill, 2019). For many years, people have gain relief from the use of marijuana and they reported no side effects. Thus, the Founding Fathers could stop the federal government from passing laws that prohibit marijuana legalization. They could encourage the states to use medical marijuana for recreation.

 However, there should be new approaches to drug use because marijuana is a dangerous drug. Marijuana possession and use are associated with violence and health issues. Thus, the federal government should flex their muscles or in other words, they should be proactive in enforcing laws to prohibit the legalization of marijuana (Marion & Hill, 2019). Note that the drug cost is high. A strategy is needed to address the drug cost and also address the health and safety issues as well as crime and violence (Marion & Hill, 2019). Legalization of marijuana should be illegal because the individual, the families, and society will suffer greatly from the harm yet they will not be able to control the crime and other consequences.

Answer 4

 The National Security Agency is protecting the U.S by collecting and analyzing information that could be a threat. For example, surveillance activities analyze computerized records and conduct data mining to identify terrorist activities. However, the activities have raised debate where some argue that the citizens are treated unfairly. The major argument is that the intelligence gathering is violating the constitutional rights in that the citizens are not protected from free speech (Cunningham, 2017). Citizens no longer live in a free society but rather they are in a society where they are unable to exercise their rights.

 However, security is more important. Thus, the national security agency should continue with the surveillance activities to protect the citizens from thefts and terrorism. Note that terrorists are a huge threat and many Americans live with the fear that terrorism like that of September will reoccur. Another point to note is that technology advancement has enabled the terrorists to use different tactics such as radiological and biological bombs to conduct a crime (Cunningham, 2017). Also, the crime cost is high compared to the costs of surveillance. Thus, there is no need of exercising liberty while at the same expose oneself to the risks of an attack (Cunningham, 2017). It is important to allow the government to exercise its power to protect the Americans from attacks.

 

 

 

References

 

Janda, K., Berry, J. M., Goldman, J., & Hula, K. W. (2009). The challenge of democracy:

American government in a gobal world. Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

 

Chandra, S. S., & Rajendra, S. K. (2004). Principles of education. New Delhi: Atlantic

Publishers and Distributors.

 

 Patel K., & Rushefsky E Mark. (2014). Healthcare Politics and Policy in America. Routledge   

 

Marion, N. E., & Hill, J. B. (2019). Marijuana 360: Differing perspectives on legalization. Rowman &

Littlefield

 

In Cunningham, A. C. (2017). Privacy and security in the digital age. Greenhaven Publishing