Federalism

FOR NEXT MONDAY, READ:  

• Tocqueville, 9-20, 231-261, 277-315, 340-363, 525-530.

Supremacy Clause

Tenth Amendment (reserved powers) and the fraught phrase "states' rights"

• COVID and the "police power"
• Eminent domain
• Two meanings of sovereign immunity:  "state sovereign immunity (p 75) and municipal immunity  The book does not mention it, but it could directly affect you.

How the states "control" the feds: legal action

How does the federal government "control" states and localities?

GRANTS-IN-AID   IMPORTANT:  ANY TIME YOU ARE COMPARING DOLLAR AMOUNTS OVER TIME, ADJUST FOR INFLATION, EITHER BY USING CONSTANT DOLLARS OR PERCENTAGES OF GDP.

Why change over time?

Types of grants

• Categorical grants
• Block grants

Unfunded mandates

Layer cake, marble cake, mishmosh

There are 90,837 governments in the United States

Intergovernmental COVID

There are 88 cities in Los Angeles County

Fires and federalism

The recent fires