progressive federalism definition

When dissenters have an opportunity to govern, however, they must figure out how to pour their arguments into a narrow policy space. Or give the gift of Democracy to a friend or family member. We should care because the success of our democracy depends on two projects. Supporters of same-sex marriage spent many years exercising their First Amendment rights. Professor Gerken and Professor Schleicher will discuss how states and local governments can become centers of empowerment for progressives, and just how much momentum left-leaning states can maintain under the Trump Administration in areas like welfare/social services, the environment, education, and immigration, among others. But the major social and economic There are several compelling rationales for a Minority rights, then, are not the only means available for protecting political outliers and integrating them into the polity. Academics thus praise diverse democratic bodies because they involve the politics of recognition; they grant racial minorities the dignity of voice, ensuring that they play a role in any decision-making process. the damage by becoming more powerful crosssector If progressive leaders hold their ground, they can shield their constituents from the policies they most oppose, and maybe even force compromise. If rights are the only protections afforded to racial minorities and dissenters, we risk treating both groups merely as what Stanford Law Professor Pam Karlan calls objects of judicial solicitude rather than efficacious political actors in their own right.. This process built popular acceptance of same-sex marriage and explains why the Supreme Courts nationwide ruling in Obergefell v. Hodgesa decision that would surely have caused intense controversy before states started to actwas greeted enthusiastically by an overwhelming majority of Americans. Gay rights is one of those issues. and uncooperatively to resist national policies The federal government relies heavily on city police departments to enforce federal law. That power, in turn, cooled ethnicitys talismanic force. In these examples, political power didnt just facilitate economic integration. laboratories of democracy, experimenting governments and their local governments to In fact, racial minorities and dissenters can wield more electoral power at the local level than they do at the national. However, when one turns to the question of winners and losers, the limits of the diversity paradigm are clear. Todays federalism involves a muscular national government that makes policy in virtually every area that was once relegated to state and local governments. Sometimes it offers states more funding and flexibility; sometimes it seeks to constrain, guide, or direct state policy and budget decisions generally in service . Immigration is another. as the year when distrust in the US Instead, they have to suit up and get in the game. Federalism is a type of government in which the power is divided between the national government and other governmental units. Federalism is for everyone, and its time that liberals took notice. Think, for example, about where groups we would normally call a minority now actually constitute a majority: a mostly African-American city like Atlanta, a city such as San Francisco where the majority favors same-sex marriage, or a state like California or Texas where Latinos will soon be in the majority. Progressives, of course, care a good deal about nurturing and protecting dissent. Racial minorities are thus destined to be the junior partner or dissenting gadfly in the democratic process. State and local governments have become sites of empowerment for racial minorities and dissenters, the groups that progressives believe have the most to fear from decentralization. It empowers those who will oppress them. Consider car emissions. Excluding the military, it employs just short of three million personnel. Our Constitution outlines a separation of powers between the. The notion of turning the tables thus taps into a deeply intuitive idea of democratic fairness. But dissent matters to progressives even when they think they can build a majority for their positions. The language of states rights has an ugly history, invoked to shield slavery and Jim Crow. The virtues of decentralization may not play an important role in progressive thought, but these lessons havent eluded those involved in progressive politics. They can resist Washington overreach, shape national policies, and force the Republicans to compromise. Built by Tierra Innovation. The most remarkable example in recent years has been the same-sex marriage movement. If enough cities do so, theyll affect inequality far beyond their borders. But in a saying often attributed to Mark Twain, it often rhymes. But the model currently favored by progressivesa strong nationalist systemhas costs as well, as the discussion above makes clear. Its 2015 budget (excluding defense, Social Security, and mandatory spending obligations) was less than $600 billion. These lawsuits often reach beyond Californias borders, allowing city and state officials to play a role in shaping nationwide policy. But it may also be remembered as Thats because its hard for progressive issues to get traction these days. The arguments used to fight the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 were based on federalism. For years, states rights and federalism have been a right-wing cause, but now the tables are turning. Those who favor it wax eloquent about the dignity associated with voice and participation. But they are also a tool for encouraging compromise. Take climate change: From green building codes to cap-and-trade, the bulk of the work on the issue is being accomplished outside of Washington. How Bidens fight against monopoly can guide his party to victory, and empower American to build a truly better future. Here again, critical distinctions get lost when we focus on minority rights and neglect minority rule in thinking about dissent. Progressives have lost power in Washington. Rather, theyre essential for keeping important issues in the news and for denying President Trump sole control of the political agenda. We have made progress on both fronts, but there is a great deal more work to do. But we have ignored the possibility that minority rule might promote a similar set of aims, and thus offer another tool for helping us transition from a world of racial oppression to one of genuine equality. The tax will affect hundreds of companies that do business in Portland and would be easy for other jurisdictions with business taxes to adopt. Distrust of states rights exists for good historical reasons, but today, minorities and dissenters can rule at the local level. inevitable results of more federal gridlock? As mentioned, many think of federalism as a means of entrenching the worst aspects of our politics. Alexander Hamilton versus Thomas Jefferson. programs. Thus, when racial minorities constitute statistical majorities, we call those institutions segregated and condemn them as such. We dont mean to suggest that federalism is a cure-all for either progressives or conservatives. Arnold Foundation and Ballmer Group and Lenny Mendonca is co-founder and board chair of FUSE Corps, former senior fellow at the Presidio Institute, and former senior partner emeritus at McKinsey & Company. disappear; they will only intensify. Article I, for example, lists Congress enumerated powers and anytime theres a list says Young, lawyers will ask if it is exclusive or representative. They worry that those who are most in need of government action are unaided by blue-state policies. In a progressive federalist approach, the federal While we fashion this as a progressive users guide, it could, in theory, work just as well for conservatives should they lose the presidency in 2020. Followingare some of the issues upon which states may test their powers to go it alone, or resist new federalpolicies. If President Trump spends enough political capital, hell surely win some of his battles against blue cities and states. So it enacted a tax surcharge on all publicly traded companies whose CEOs are paid more than one hundred times its median worker. The point here is that progressives can fight for their causes in our current system, and they can win. It thus helps generate the deliberative froth needed to prevent national politics from becoming ossified or frozen by political elites uninterested in debating the hard questions that matter most to everyday voters. If congressional Republicans succeed at repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act, their plans will likely devolve substantial authority, largely in the form of grant money, to the states. The book is a tremendous blessing. false Which of the following is an implied power of the federal government? . The possibility of progressive spillovers answers another progressive objection to federalism. Tyson, L. D., & Mendonca, L. (2017). Finally, states and cities should remember that they have the power to set the agenda. Care to venture a guess as to The New York Times headline? cities and other local governments. Gone are the days of policy-making enclaves shielded from national power. progressive to federalism, my main point is that federalism doesn't have a political valence. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, technology, economic development, and social organization. Portland was concerned about income inequality and wasnt willing to wait for Washington to act. Both can help further equality and nurture dissent. Today, Its easy to dismiss this allegation in hindsight, but I must confess that when I was in Cambridge on the day that Massachusetts began marrying same-sex couples, I assumed that thousands of protestors would be bussed into the city. Diversity is a much-revered term for the idea that institutions should look like the community from which they are drawnthat they should look like America, to use one of Bill Clintons favorite phrases. Politics can play an important role in promoting economic integration, and economics can play an important role in promoting political integration. They can use all the tools weve suggested to encourage moderation and reshape the national conversation. Often, cities refuse to assist in deportation effortseither because they disagree with those efforts on principle or because they believe that undocumented residents will be less likely to report crimes if they fear immigration consequences in the face of such uncooperative localism, there is little the federal government can do. We thank you for your support! This creates a heavy incentive for moderation and compromise. as governments collaborate with data-driven federalism, argues, progressives can respond to President Trump and congressional gridlock Better yet, California realized that its attorney generals office cannot keep every business in the state in check all by itself. You look for any port in the storm, and the theory of state autonomy is one of those ports, agrees Levinson. The answer to a deadlocked and divided Sign up for our email newsletter! Laura D. Tyson is a distinguished professor of the Graduate School and faculty director of the Institute for Business & Social Impact at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business. States accepted the federal grant money, but slow-walked reforms and often fudged testing standards. catalyzing, advocating, innovating, and delivering Republicans have responded to this challenge by abandoning their stated commitment to decentralization and threatening to strip all federal funding from sanctuary cities. In 1786, people were geographically distributed in populations that at some level didnt trust one another and might not like one another, says Levinson. Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. The problem is that progressive views on dissent exhibit the same shortcomings as our discourse on race. Cooperative federalism is a type of federalism in which federal and state governments work together to achieve goals or projects. But sometimes that worry is misguided. New Federalism These sorts of bold pronouncements are not mere bluster. Spending time and money to crack down on marijuana, for example, takes resources away from fights over immigration or climate change. is an expert in constitutional and election law, and the J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale Law School. Abstraction and ideological purity are the luxuries enjoyed by policy-making outsiders. By taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by minority rule rather than relying on minority rights, proponents of same-sex marriage remapped the politics of the possible. In place of what some call the politics of presence, we have the politics of power. The less obvious is that, viewed through the lens of federalism, we might imagine these sites as opportunities for empowering racial minorities rather than oppressing them. A constitutional arrangement by which power is equally distributed between a central government and state governments. Pam Karlan and New York University Law Professor Sam Issacharoff, for example, have argued that the economic progress of African Americans has turned not on the vindication of civil rights, but on business set-asides, affirmative action, and government employment. Eliminating opportunities for local governance to protect racial minorities and dissenters also means eliminating the very sites where they are empowered to rule. We suspect that most progressives arent even aware that the Democrats have lost 27 state legislative chambers since 2008. Sign up for our print edition! the United States by the Constitution, nor A federal program that doesnt affect California, New York, and Illinoisto say nothing of Houston, Atlanta, and Phoenixwont touch a huge portion of America. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, appointed to the court in 1916, was a progressive era champion of federalism, attacking the curse of bigness. He famously noted that the states arelaboratories of democracyand wrote: It is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory; and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.. He made his name in the world of urban commerce and believed that a vibrant merchant class and centralized power would be Americas ticket to worldwide stature. Cross Sector Leadership: Approaches to Solve Problems at the Scale at Which They Exist, The Essential Skills of Cross Sector Leadership, Creating a Cross Sector Leadership Network, In Search of a New Model for Government-Social Enterprise Collaboration. But if progressives can simply look outside the Beltway, they will find that they still have access to one of the most powerful weapons in politics: federalism. And it certainly offers a less pristine view of integration than the one we associate with the rights model. federalist approach to policy design and delivery, These days, state and local governments are often led by dissenters and racial minorities, the two groups progressives think have the most to fear from federalism. We expect dissenters to speak truth to power, not with it. If the politics of recognition theorists are correct that the diversity paradigmgranting racial minorities a voice on every decision-making bodyrepresents an acknowledgment of equal status, then federalism and localism acknowledge the ability of racial minorities not just to participate, but to rule. or continuing to otherwise browse this site, you agree to the use of cookies. Just as the right to free speech has played an important role in shaping national debates, so too has minority rule. Cities and states have long been at the center of the fight over national values. Although the terms "progressive" and "liberalism" are often used synonymously, the historical origins of these ideologies suggest that they are different but related. Reproduction of material from any Salon pages without written permission is strictly prohibited. Progressives have long endorsed the nationalist case for national power. and working in cross-sectoral partnerships to Or consider marijuana. Social Finance. Federal dependence on the states is so pronounced in criminal law that Vanderbilt law professor Robert Mikos has argued that states can nullify federal marijuana law by withdrawing enforcement resources. Its hard to see the case for majority-minority institutions because the diversity paradigm offers such a deeply intuitive vision of fairness. Watch on Professor Gerken outlined how federalism can be a very useful tool because it enables political minorities to implement important policy and legislative changes at the local and state level. In each of those cases, minority rulewhere national minorities constitute local majoritiesallows minorities to protect themselves rather than look to courts as their source of solace. And even national standards on fuel efficiency and the like have emerged largely as a result of states like California using their policy-making power to prod national regulators to move forward. The most obvious is that these institutions may be different from the racial enclaves of Jim Crow. We dont worry about this representational kaleidoscopelet alone condemn it as segregatedmerely because one group or another is taking its turn standing in for the whole. It is, in short, a form of federalism that progressive nationalists can celebrate. 2 The Rationale for Federalism Think, for instance, of Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggers claim that there would be rioting in the streets in response to San Franciscos decision. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)released the first of its name and shame lists lastweek, intent upon intimidating 96 sanctuary cities towns, cities and counties that refused requests from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain undocumented immigrants in order for federal agents to pick them up. We classify institutions as either diverse or segregated. The former is in all cases good, the latter in all cases bad. Progressives have to make their case to the American people, just like everyone else. But we typically think of participation in highly idealistic and individualistic terms while ignoring crass concerns like who wins and who loses. We'll send periodic reminders of what's new and what's coming. We miss the possibility that governance can be a vehicle for dissent. Throughout U.S. history, important reforms began on the state and local level abolishing slavery in Massachusetts (1783); giving women the right to vote in Wyoming (1869); implementing workmens compensation in Wisconsin (1911), or passing a minimum wage law in Massachusetts (1912). Progressives have long looked to the realm of rights to shield racial minorities and dissenters from unfriendly majorities. Progressives have lost the federal government and are seeing the merits of decentralized solutions to problems posed by Trumps policy proposals. We thank you for your support! Progressives have long leveraged local population concentrations into political power. But dont confuse the Democratic-Republican Party with the current Democrats and Republicans, or the Federalists with contemporary federalism they are different species. The decisions issued in San Francisco and Massachusetts didnt just put to rest a variety of dire arguments about what would happen if same-sex couples were allowed to marry. We should look to minority rule, not just minority rights, as we build a better democracy. They can resist Washington overreach, shape national policies, and force the Republicans to compromise. By Lenny Mendonca & Laura D. Tyson But everyday politics can be just as important for pursuing these goals. Some early state and local battles were lost, but same-sex marriage proponents used those fights as staging grounds for organizing and debate. But so, too, did the decisions of San Francisco and Massachusetts to issue same-sex marriage licenses to gay couples. Democracyis an independent organization. Such a strategy would be impossible without the hard-won battles of the civil rights movement. Maybe this federalism thing is worth a shot? As Heather Gerken, distinguished scholar of progressive federalism, argues, progressives can respond to President Trump and congressional gridlock by using the substantial powers of federalism both cooperatively to shape national policies, and uncooperatively to resist national policies at odds with progressive goals. Instead, we condemn governing bodies dominated by dissenters as lawless or parochial, as Fordham Law School Professor Nestor Davidson and University of Virginia Law Professor Richard Schragger have both found in their studies of the discourse surrounding local power. The first, Printz v. United States, decided in 1997, stands for the proposition that the federal government may not commandeer state and local workers by forcing them to carry out federal policy. There are Here, liberal municipalities might take guidance from Portland, Oregon. SSIR.org and/or its third-party tools use cookies, which are necessary Advocates of racial justice have long been skeptical of federalism. The second rationale is that a federalist Sign up for our email newsletter! Minority rule, by contrast, allows racial minorities and dissenters to act as efficacious political actors, just as members of the majority do. Designed by Arsenal, developed by Hop Studios. Minority rule can promote both the economic and political integration of racial minorities. there are numerous examples of progressive Economists would call spillovers an externality, and externalities can be positive or negative depending on your point of view. For example, we typically dont use the word dissent to describe San Franciscos decision to issue same-sex marriage licenses or the efforts of the Texas school board to rewrite its history curriculum. approach can encourage the local sourcing of Too often we assume in the context of race that rights alone will suffice, as if the path to equality moves straight from civic inclusion to full integration. Decentralization will produce policies that progressives adore, and it will produce policies that they loathe. Local institutions offer racial minorities the chance to enjoy the same sense of efficacyand deal with the same types of problemsas the usual members of the majority. contracts, competitions, and prizes. When Virginia made it easy to buy a gun, guns flooded into New York City despite its rigorous firearms prohibitions. More importantly, what we have today is not your fathers federalism. They were dissenting by deciding. But history suggests a more muscular account of what a democracy can do for minorities. local governments, trusted by their citizens, Cities can create spillovers, too. Design by Point Five, NY. So it empowers all counties, as well as large cities, to bring suit to enforce this law. No one wants to be a member of a party whose victories are all in the kill, whose only role in national politics is that of the gadfly. federal government triggered a resurgence of Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis called How Bidens fight against monopoly can guide his party to victory, and empower American to build a truly better future. Sign up for our print edition! Beginning in the late 1950's and lasting through the late 1960's, federalism went through a creative phase that saw a flurry of new programs and a greater linkage of the federal, state, and local governments. This is not your fathers federalism. The 10thAmendment holds onto the remaining balance of power for the states, which is often referred to as states rights. The federalism that haunts our history looks quite different from the form of local power that prevails now. Its harder still to get somethinganythingdone in Washington. At the very least, they will need to compromise enough to make their policies palatable to the other side. The effects of turning the tables are not, of course, confined to racial minorities. Together, state and local governments dwarf these figures, with more than 14 million workers and a combined budget of more than $2.5 trillion. The term federalism refers to the political understanding or system where ultimate authority is shared between the state or regional governments and the central government. philanthropists such as the Laura and John The Obama administration used all of these tools to encourage innovation and local design in achieve progressive goals. Spillovers, like federalism, arent just the tools of conservative governments. Progressives were right to worry about federalism in the past. alone cant solve these problems; indeed, it Here, they might take guidance from California, the superstate of the progressive federalism pantheon. These divisions reflect deep fissures in underlying But it can also be a tool to change our politics for the better. They now stand to stop Trump should he try to implement draconian deportation policies. We often associate federalism with conservatism, but that's pure foolishness on our part. Progressive Federalism Wednesday, February 1, 2017 at 12:10PM - 1:00PM Room 121 Open To The Public Add to Calendar: Description While progressives have long been skeptical of federalism, progressive federalism could prove to be an important defensive tool for progressive advocacy under a Trump Administration and Republican Congress. Throughout history, both progressive and conservative federalism has beenopportunistic. She chairs the Blum Center for Developing Economies Board of Trustees. But, like any administrative scheme, the states had discretion, and, in this case, red states used their discretion to great effect. Just as it is odd that we affix the dreaded label segregation to institutions where racial minorities dominate, so too it is strange that we condemn decisions as parochial simply because political outliers make them. Perhaps it reflects their sympathy for the underdog. In the Obama years, red states took full advantage of their power to shape the national conversation. By the Civil War, the federal courts had established several key principles of federalism, including the power of federal courts to invalidate unconstitutional state laws, to nullify conflicting state-court rulings, and to ensure the supremacy of federal law enacted within the enumerated powers the Constitution delegated to the federal government. One might accept all of these arguments and yet still worry about local power because of the twin problems of racism and parochialism. If states or cities refuse to comply, President Trump has threatened to cancel their federal funds, but thanks to the U.S. Constitution, its an empty threat. In that situation, the majority must do something to get the policy overturned. By closing this banner, scrolling this page, clicking a link And if Omaha is segregating its schools, who wants to be on the wrong side of that fight? federal government and about basic standards Because unlawful is defined to include those that violate federal statutes and regulations, Californias Attorney General can sue over many violations of federal law; if he wins, he can shut down the unlawful practice and seek substantial fines. Progressive Federalism: A New Way Forward? of programs and services, bolstering citizen The political principles . While progressives have long been skeptical of federalism, progressive federalism could prove to be an important defensive tool for progressive advocacy under a Trump Administration and Republican Congress. We have long thought that minority rights further economic and political integration. champions of social change? When one state regulates, it often affects its neighbors. Consider an example from the mainstream media. Federalism is a powerful weapon no matter what your political preferences. With the issue on the national agenda, progressives, of course, still need to win the fight in Washington, as I discuss below. of dollars of federal funding to programs that three million workers and a 2016 budget of The best definition the federal government; and among citizens. Antimonopoly: A Master Narrative for Democracy. So, as a result of the federalism doctrine created by conservative justices, President Trump and the GOP-dominated Congress dont have many sticks with which to bludgeon uncooperative states and cities. actors. Why does this matter? These changes may be entrenched enough that even Jeff Sessionss marijuana-hostile Department of Justice wont be able to change the equation. Using the power they wield in states and cities across the country, progressives can do a good deal more than mourn and obstruct. When progressives talk about democracy, they celebrate the idiosyncratic dissenter, the nobility of resistance, the glory of getting things wrong, and the wild patchwork of views that make up the polity. Progressive "Federalism". It is important here to note that even when states and localities pass policies that progressives dislike, getting the issue on the national agenda is whats of value. When Congress makes a law, it often lacks the resources to enforce it. As members of the Christian right have fought to put their preferred policies into place, their positions have shifted. But are we doomed to the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil. In the worst-case scenario, states threaten secession and it leads to civil war, as it did in 1861. They can achieve the same results by diligently heeding every safety and quality control regulation so that factories grind to a halt. The third rationale is that it can enable a Protecting a state or citys residents from financial fraud is an effectiveand sure-to-be popularmethod of progressive resistance. There is a little-used anti-commandeering doctrine that says using federal tax and spending powers to coerce state or local governments to enforce federal law violates states rights. development in colleges and work programs. education, climate change, and health insurance. - by refusing the rule on the definition of the Guarantee Clause, the Court for the first time ruled that POLITICAL QUESTIONS should be . Instead of the laboratories of democracy, Young says, he is beginning to think the states are valuable as the fallout centers of democracy, where the defeated party can go back and build up its strength and live to fight another day.. Amendment: The powers not delegated to There are issues that matter quite a lot to people on the ground but never make it onto the national agenda because elites have no interest in debating them. Californias statute allows city and state officials to protect their residents from harms that a municipal ordinance or state law might not cure. Admittedly, this argument involves a more rough-and-tumble account of democracy than we read in our civics textbooks. If cities and states care about the laws that Trump plans to abandon, they should figure out how to enforce those laws themselves. Cities, too, have an uncooperative role to play, especially in the immigration context. When these cities and counties do so, they act on behalf of the State of California and can seek the same expansive remedies as the attorney general. Copyright 2023 Salon.com, LLC. Federalism is a form of political organization that seeks to distinguish states and unites them, which assigns different types of decision-making power at different levels to allow a degree of political independence in an overarching structure. Thats why President Trump has a lot more incentive to compromise with Democrats in Sacramento than with those on the Hill. We laud diversity on the grounds that racial minorities bring a distinctive view or experience to democratic decision-making. When West Virginia failed to regulate pollution, toxic clouds floated over Ohio. Amsterdam-based #nonprofit @spununderground is producing a first-ever map of the worlds mycorrhizal fungal network twitter.com/i/web/status/1, Join #SSIRLive! Given the slim chances of Democrats winning back Congress in 2018, many think that the best progressives can do is hunker down for the next four years, blocking legislation on the Hill and challenging it in court. of successful experiments. has plummeted, annual Gallup polls show Its a depressing picture for those on the left. We hope you can join us for this important discussion! Or give the gift of Democracy to a friend or family member. People who dont like states rights tend to be dismissive of the 10thAmendment. Young describes the 10thAmendment as reading guidelines for other parts of the Constitution. Instead, theyll simply announce that they wont enforce the law, just as the Obama Administration has done with certain marijuana and immigration laws. The 2016 election year may be remembered The Court was troubled by the magnitude of the threat and the weak connection between the existing Medicaid program and the changes made by the ACA. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central . the delivery of federal programslinking billions That skepticism runs so deep that it is inscribed in our very vocabulary. handle problems. As depressing as America may seem right nowjust as it seemed to many in the early 1900sthe roots of a constructive and effective democracy are still with us. tool for progressive change now. . It also deprives whites of the comfort and power associated with their majority status. Democracy works better when the usual losers sometimes win and the usual winners sometimes lose. But perhaps the 2016 election will help progressives shake loose the notion that D.C. is the center of the political universe. Federal systems do this by requiring that basic policies be made and implemented through negotiation in some form, so that all the members can share in making and executing decisions. It contrasts with a unitary government, in which a central authority holds the power, and a confederation, in which states, for example, are clearly dominant. Consistent with the diversity paradigm, we typically assume that dissenters should be represented in rough proportion to their share of the populationone lone skeptic among twelve angry men. It can be a source of resistance We'll send periodic reminders of what's new and what's coming. As we approach January 20th, labor advocates and other progressives are placing their hopes in a handful of states and cities. Progressives also associate federalismand its less prominent companion, localism, which simply means decentralization within a statewith parochialism and the suppression of dissent. But Arizonas recently enacted immigration law has galvanized national debate and forced elites to engage. Short answer: Federalism is part of our government's design a vertical sharing of power between the national and state governments. solutions developed by state and local governments. If left to their own devices, politicians in red and blue states will rarely negotiate with their colleagues on the other side. They fought for them, pushing reluctant national leaders to do the right thing. should be evaluated and changed on of government, there is strong agreement that Everyone ought to experience, in the words of President Bush, a good thumpin.. [1] The states rights trump card has all but disappeared, which means that the national government can protect racial minorities and dissenters when it needs to while allowing local forms of power to flourish. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Is progressive federalism an oxymoron? The second is dialogueensuring a healthy amount of debate and disagreement within our democracy. Business Collaboration with Government: Does Reward Outweigh Risk? Federalismtaking the opportunity to innovate, experiment, and evaluate at the state and local levelis not merely a second-best option. Jefferson, an educated owner of 10,000 acres and 200 slaves, wanted the country to remain a nation of farmers in control of their own destinies (and of the grim fates of their slaves) and he advocated for maintaining strong state power. Note, for instance, that both sides of the debate on immigration have struggled to get the federal government to act on this question. A Helsinki Moment for a New Democracy Strategy. The federal government during the Obama Administration has been deeply engaged with states, perhaps more so than any time since the 1960s. Those who favor racial integration might also value minority rule for reasons that have nothing to do with its material benefits. This piece originally appeared on BillMoyers.com. We argue that this is exactly the right moment for a new form of progressivism: progressive federalism. This solution is embodied in the 10th But our current system rests on the assumption that decentralization can produce a healthier democracy in the long term. The deep alienation from the national government that the left is feeling right now was mirrored up through the election by the deep alienation from the national government on the right, when you had Republican states doing whatever they could to torpedo national legislation, he says. Cities and states have long been at the center of the fight over national values. It was not the job of the federal constitution to create states or to give them power, says Ernest Young, a law professor and federalism expert at Duke University. If progressives want to take a lesson from the conservative handbook, they will have to consider which parts of the equality projectreforming immigration, policing, sentencing, to give just a few examplesthey can directly advance. And as with members of the majority, racial minorities dont just have a chance to represent their own groupthey have a chance to take their turn to stand in for the whole, which Princeton Professor George Kateb describes as a key feature of representative democracy. The Court has condemned majority-minority electoral districts as political apartheid. A conservative majority also held in City of Richmond v. J.A. Iconic measures like the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Act all offer rights-based protections for minorities. The same, of course, is true of a national system. Many of the best progressive ideas were born in cities and states, and social movements have long used state and local governments as testing grounds for their ideas. Local decisions can serve as a much-needed catalyst for national debates. of social justice. It was trying to elbow out a little space for the federal government to exist too. The result, he says, was a rough balance between the government and constituent states, and at each level there is a huge range of divisions of power. When either the states or the national government thinks the other is overstepping its authority, it turns to the judiciary, which serves as a referee. Progressives also associate federalismand its less prominent companion, localism, which simply means decentralization within a statewith parochialism and the suppression of dissent. They helped reveal something about where same-sex marriage fell on peoples priority lists. But the odd thing about a rights strategy for protecting dissent is that it pushes dissenters outside of the project of governance. by using the substantial powers of federalism States rights have been invoked to defend some of the most despicable institutions in American history, most notably slavery and Jim Crow. While the diversity paradigm guarantees racial minorities a vote or voice on every decision-making body, it also ensures that they will be the political losers on any issue on which people divide along racial lines. prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to This form of resistance involves more than mere obstruction. They force politicians to do their jobs, in other words. For example, consider the response to the No Child Left Behind Act, perhaps the centerpiece of George W. Bushs domestic policy. Moreover, progressives tend to overstate the problem of parochialism. government can act as a venture capitalist, But thats just as true of the nationalist model that progressives favor. An emphasis on minority rule isnt intended to denigrate the importance of minority rights. Instead, it relies on states and localities to carry out its policies. Our social, political, and economic life still reflects racial divides. But same-sex marriage was not enough to motivate protesters to flock to California or Massachusetts, and that is something we could not possibly have learned from an abstract debate or opinion poll. the belief of all levels of government working together cooperatively to achieve and solve common problems. federal government is progressive federalismthe pursuit of progressive policy goals They have a right to speak their mind, but only when they speak for themselves. demonstrated success in maternal and child We are thus quite dubious about institutions that depart from statistical mirroring, including those where racial minorities dominate. We have long believed that political participation matters for equality. Instead, we saw a peaceful if slightly carnival-like atmosphere, with the only source of excitement being the Gay Mens Choir. That work played a crucial role in fueling a national debate on the question. As they do so, they can take advantage of another powerful weapon in the federalist toolkit: the spillover.. (Marble Cake) Creative Federalism the type of federalism that shifted more power towards the national government by bypassing state governments and allowing the federal government to have direct control over statewide programs. governments were leaders in establishing public well as state colleges and universities. and for the role of government in cross-sector And they should remember that working through state and local institutions to enact progressive ideas is just as important as opposing whatever comes out of Washington. Consider the way the debate over same-sex marriage has unfolded during the last decade. It should come as no surprise that de Tocquevilles democracy fails to produce Webers bureaucracy. As in the context of race, we often laud minority rights because they can knit political outliers into the polity. The costs seem too great. Four issues a year, $24. Read more stories by Laura D. Tyson & Lenny Mendonca. As Heather States and municipalities have a lot of power to challenge Washington. Colorado and Washington have already done so. They enacted tough abortion limitations that forced that issue to the front of the political agenda. health care and education. If one is debating something in the abstract after all, the hardest argument to defeat is the parade of horribles. challenge grants, pay-for-performance rest of the country at risk.1 And states have the When Texas insisted that its textbooks question evolution, for instance, its market power ensured that textbooks used in blue states did the same. Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, Inc. All right reserved. The San Francisco City Attorneys Office, with which both of us work, has used this power to great effect: It has sued tax preparers, mortgage lenders, and prescription drug companies for violating federal law. And this has allowed them to not only take advantage of the enormous power that federalism confers within their own cities and states, but to affect national debates, influence national policy, and force national actors to the bargaining table. Federalisms checkered past led political scientist William H. Riker to remark in 1964 that if one disapproves of racism, one should disapprove of federalism. Even today, many progressives think of federalism as a parochial anachronism, better suited for stymieing change than for effecting it. The creative phase achieved its zenith during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson (1963-69), who coined the term in a famous commencement address at the University of . Politicians must reach out across state or party lines to fix the problem. The lesson that progressives often miss is the way that these two models interact. The former made headlines in December by boldly claiming that California would launch its own satellites if the federal government abandoned its climate research. Which is the best definition of federalism? Our political system is immobilized; the issues that matter to everyday citizens are stuck in the frozen political tundra we call Washington. They wrote editorials, marched in parades, and argued with their neighbors. budgets of $2.5 trillion, to administer many of As a result, all cars, whether sold in San Francisco or Texarkana, meet Californias high standards. The federal government doesnt have the resources to carry out all of the new Congresss proposals. Two important Supreme Court decisionsboth supported by conservative justiceswill make it difficult for Republicans to carry out their defunding threat. But its possible to believe in, even revere, the work of that movement and still wonder whether rights, standing alone, will bring us to full equality. federal system. Using the power they wield in states and cities across the country, progressives can do a good deal more than mourn and obstruct. Democrats have won a super-majority in both houses of the California legislature, and its governor, Jerry Brown, seems to be spoiling for the fight against Trump. In their view, these programs came about precisely because blacks were able to elect their candidates of choice in majority-minority districts. Until then, these regulations will remain on the books, and cities and states can work to keep businesses in compliance, even if federal enforcement is lax. Accordingly, federalism is a voluntary form of government and mode of governance that establishes unity while preserving diversity by constitutionally uniting separate political communities (e.g., the 13 original U.S. states) into a limited, but encompassing, political community (e.g., the United States) called a federal polity. important partnership roles in researching, for innovation and fast pivots, enabling rapid ability of the Supreme Court to determine constitutionality of decisions fiscal federalism the national government's usage of money to bribe state governments into carrying out programs; use project grants (for certain issues) and block grants (states use as they want) progressive federalism Finally, states can fill gaps in federal regulatory schemes by resisting programs from within. Heavily indebted cities and states may find fighting the federal government is too expensive. So instead they started localfirst in Hawaii, then in Massachusetts, then in San Francisco. If progressive leaders hold their ground, they can shield their constituents from the policies they most oppose and maybe even force the new Administration to seek compromise. Federalism is a political system that believes each state under a central government can have its own laws and customs while still sharing unified laws, customs, and currency. Nor is it only the color-blindness camp that views minority-dominated institutions with skepticism. The president, Congress and the Supreme Court often hog the spotlight, so it is easy to forget that the states were here first. at odds with progressive goals.2. And we forget that it is perfectly plausible to centralize some things and not others; if you are worried about economic inequality, you can run your schools at the local level without funding them there. that a majority of Americans trust their state For all Trumps bluster about repealing the Environmental Protection Agencys Clean Power Plan and other regulations, the rollback process may take years, if it happens at all. The results of their experiments won over Bill Clinton and led to national welfare reform. Croson Co. (1989) that a minority set-aside program is more constitutionally suspect because it was enacted by a black-majority city council. health, preschool and K-12 education, and skill [T]he creation of a black middle class, they write, has depended on the vigilance of a black political class. A group of economists at George Mason University found that black employment rates, for instance, rise during the tenure of black mayors, an effect that is particularly pronounced for municipal jobs. There are others ways in which minority rule can serve the same ends as minority rights. This arrangement creates opportunities for federal-state cooperation. Congress never anticipated this result. primary and secondary education systems as What is federalism? and Prof. CB Bhattacharya of @PittCSB on 2/15 to learn a three-step pathway to integrate sustainab twitter.com/i/web/status/1, Philanthropy is at risk of perpetuating the bad acts that follow the common mental glitch of moral self-licensing. twitter.com/i/web/status/1, RT @LindiweMatlali: At the @schwabfound community meeting.

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