State financial independence important component of federalism
Andy Craig has written a thoughtful opinion piece at MSNBC titled “Democratic states are discovering ‘states rights’ are effective tools to resist Trump.”
He raises a lot of interesting points, particularly that in most instances accepting federal money doesn’t allow for coercion of policy. A lot of these entanglements have ended up in the federal courts and are going through them now again.
Still, when reading a good article like this, particularly as it relates to the funding question, it’s another reminder just how much federal overreach there is now and the main point being so much of our funding disputes could be dissipated if the states had more financial independence. Education is one good classic example. There is no reason for any dollars to go to Washington and then dispersed back to the states when it comes to education. For federalism to be fully successful, it means states raising their own revenues, setting their own priorities, and governing independently without looking how to manage the politics through dependence on Washington’s whims.
— The Federalism Beat