4,014

Federalism and its effects in crisis management.

Posted on by smoriarty

It seems as if federalism has reared its ugly head during the recent SARS-Cov-2 pandemic.

Federalism’s core ideas allow our country to thrive as a melting pot of ideas, where each state’s self-governance allows them to tackle societal issues with their own unique angle. Don’t like sports gambling? You can vote for representatives in your district who also don’t. Want to legalize marijuana? Same ideas apply.

The system is a great check on the power of larger states, and prevents their views on national policy from entirely dominating those of smaller states.

But for a national crisis such as the current pandemic, it creates a double-edged sword with potentially fatal consequences.

The idea of states choosing their own response plan sounds great in practice. If a state does not have any cases yet it doesn’t have to go to quite as extreme of a lockdown as one that’s facing down an outbreak, and other special circumstances each state faces can be handled accordingly.

Here’s the catch: not every state took this pandemic as seriously as the next. 7 states did not issue a stay-at-home order, later in the pandemic others lifted theirs much earlier than others, and many had different policies (which can actively be tracked here).

In a country where residents from one state encounter their neighbors from another on a frequent basis, this lack of cohesiveness undermines a large percentage of our country’s efforts to fight off this virus. This chart by NPR shows this effect to some degree, as every time I check for more information, there’s a constant pattern that amongst clusters of states that neighbor each other, being a healthy section of green, or a concerning array of yellows and oranges.

Our world doesn’t allow for each state to operate as its own (for lack of a better term) state. If you live or work in an area within 15-20 minutes of a state border, next time you shop (safely!), or go to work, count the out-of-state license plates. Of the 11 people who I closed with today at Dick’s Sporting Goods (New Hampshire), I counted 2 Maine plates, and 1 Massachusetts plate, and during shopping hours the percentage of out-of-staters is even higher.

People flock to nearby states to avoid income taxes, go to specialty shops, or maybe their location on a map is closer to a grocery store in another state than one in their own.

Each state has its own unique identity as well. Some states are known for being far conscious of other scientific issues such as climate change, and others are known for being more traditional in their values on the subject. This study by The Washington Post found that more conservative areas were less likely to obey corona-related regulations, and well known conservative states like Texas had less regulations regarding virus which led to spikes before other states who might’ve proceeded with more caution.

Countries with state/provincial systems can handle a pandemic situation too. Our neighbors to the north are far ahead of us in terms of cases, and had a much more uniform response across their country. Their response was based upon the advice of scientists, saw very little variation across the country, was they were much more reluctant to reopen than America was. 

Canada is still being cautious right now, with the Canadian Gov’t denying the Toronto Blue Jays the privilege to play in their home stadium without fans because of fears that it could spread the virus unnecessarily. The much more lackadaisical response here in America has encouraged athletes to return to play at all levels, despite the risks. Sports aren’t the measuring stick for success in society (otherwise Michael Phelps’ 28 medals would make him considered just as big of a player at the United Nations as India), but they are one of the most popular pastimes across the world, and their presence usually means some sense of normalcy.

America is too fluid for federalism in the midst of a crisis, because of how we’ve adapted to use federalism since the industrial era. State lines are important during the election cycle and in court, but not as much if you’re shopping for groceries or getting a nice lunch. But when managing a national emergency, perhaps policy that creates uniform solutions would help our country stay more stable.

At its best, federalism helps to protect some of the freedoms which allow for America to act as the melting pot of ideas and people that it strives to be, but at its worst, it creates a smorgasbord of solutions which struggle to come together and fix the problems they were supposed to.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Uncategorised

smoriarty

More Posts

4,014 Comments

  2. This site is a provider of the latest and most trusted official alternative links which are very safe to play and of course will also be very profitable for what this site has presented kopertoto .

  3. This site is an official online betting bookie that is very safe to play and quite easy to win, for those who dont know, just visit and play on this most exciting site panentogel login .

  4. IDR89 adalah situs slot pulsa tanpa potongan terpopuler tahun ini dan sudah di percayai ribuan member dari indonesia, hanya di situs IDR89 ke akuratan Rtp nya mencapai 99%.

  13. 🔥SITUS GACOR, BEBAS IP, BEBAS BUY SPIN, MINIMAL DEPO 10,000, GAK ADA MAXIMAL WD.🔥
    🔥Situs Game Online Terpercaya tahun 2024 hanya di <a title="MAXWIN98" href="sattamatkamylife.com

  24. Play online betting which is quite easy to win and is officially trusted, of course it is very safe to play, it will definitely be very profitable on this site slot gacor .

  29. play and win online betting that is already officially trusted and of course will be very profitable, not only that online betting on this site also provides the opportunity to win quite easily. more complete information just visit and play to feel the sensation of winning on this website SLOT777 .

  30. This site is a professional backlink service provider platform with quality no. 1 in Indonesia, has a good level of relevance, and has also been proven by many. for those who do not know so as not to be curious about more complete information, just visit this site jasa backlink terbaik .

  31. This site is the provider of the most exciting alternative links that has ever existed and has been proven to be safe and reliable to play. Of course, it will not disappoint what is presented on this site tempototo .

  33. Trusted official online betting that is very profitable, guaranteed to win hundreds of millions of jackpots just by playing online betting on this site panentogel login .

  34. The best online betting bookie that has been widely recognized by online betting lovers around the world has been presented on this site obraltogel .

  36. play and win the most exciting online bets with just small capital, you can get satisfying results, so that you are not curious, just visit and play to feel the ease of winning on this site oli4d .

  37. You made such an interesting piece to read, giving every subject enlightenment for us to gain knowledge. Thanks for sharing the such information with us to read this…Discover more

  43. Thank you for the information provided, it is truly helpful and extraordinary, besides being interesting, the information provided is the most updated information, for those who dont know, just visit this website.https://mancityfootballpro.com/

  46. This site is a trusted professional backlink service provider with the best quality in Indonesia which has a very good level of relevance with systematic and targeted work techniques, of course it will be very helpful to achieve the best rank target in the Google search engine. for more complete information, just visit the site ultraman pbn .

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *