Question

Under the Constitution and our federal system of government, some powers are reserved for the national government and some for the state governments; and, some are shared. Please tell us about laws and regulations you work with in your daily lives. Try to list some of each. Example -- If we take the bus, the registration and inspection is a state mandate, while the bus construction is a federal mandate, and emissions controls are mandated by the national government, but inspected by the state. Other examples are work rules, etc.

Answer 1

Federalism is a system of government in which power is divided between a national or federal government and various state governments. By this definition, the United States represents a federal system of government wherein the U.S. Constitution gives certain powers to the federal government, other powers to the state governments, and some other powers to both.

For instance, if one looks at the practice of trade and commerce and the distribution of goods and services available in our own city, then we can seen that we may be paying more money for a packet of breakfast cereals manufactured in another state than a local cereal brand. However, when compared to an imported brand, the tax paid on the product from another US. state would still be lesser than the former. This is because of the differences in the taxes levied on the two commodities. While both the Federal and the state governments are empowered in the US Constitution to levy taxes, the federal government has the sole power to put taxes on international trade and trade between the different states. However, the state government is empowered to levy more taxes on the products coming from other states and being sold within one’s own state.