Tony Woodlief joins WSJ to addres the states’ addiction to Washington
Center for Practical Federalism Seinior Fellow Tony Woodlief joined The Wall Street Journal’s Kim Strassel to talk about the huge problem with our separation of powers and the future of self government: how state governments have become hooked on federal dollars.
In their conversation, Woodlief explains how federal funds now make up 37% of average state revenue, doubling since 1990.
In terms of the federal debt crisis, one sobering note I find quite enlightening:
John Cogan, who’s a Hoover scholar, he ran the numbers and he said, “Look. If you had confined the federal government to its enumerated powers,” so the things it’s allowed to do by the Constitution, “and you throw in social security and you throw in Medicare, add all that up. If it only did that, our federal debt today would be zero.”
It’s a striking reminder that the Founders knew what they were doing. When we abandon the boundaries they set, we also abandon the fiscal discipline necessary for self-government.
Yet there’s hope. States like Utah, Tennessee, and Oregon are beginning to push back, adding transparency, oversight, and even requiring legislative approval before accepting federal grants.
As Woodlief puts it: “Lawmakers are supposed to make their communities stronger — not make them hostage to political games in D.C.”
— The Federalism Beat