Saturday, July 16, 2016

Is state level government in the US necessary?

You have it backwards.  The states are not antiquated divisions of the federal government.  The states came first.  They created the federal government.   It is the federal government that is optional.

The average American is quite averse to monopolies.  Having the "choice" of only a single automobile company, or only a single clothing designer would be considered un-American.  Maybe this happens in the Soviet Union, but not here.

So the nice thing about having 50 states is we have a choice of governments, and with no internal passport system, we are free to move to any state we want, at any time we want.   Each state and local government is free to set its own tax rate and define its own benefit levels.   Some may be more business friendly.  Another might cater to retirees.  One might boast the best school systems.  Another might have high taxes, but the best climate.   So there is no monopoly on state/local government.   Americans have a choice.   

This choice also constrains the states and local governments in what they can do.  If they offer a tax/benefit package that is uncompetitive then people can move away.   It encourage a market in taxpayers, and state/local governments must compete to attract them.   We lose this if we treat the entire country as one giant government.


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