Free Essay On Counters Against The Power Of The Federal Government

The federal government have too much power as compared to states government. At first, the state government had a lot of power than federal government but the power of federal government grew with time until to overcome that of state. However, this affects the life of the American citizens. Gaylord (all) argues that there is great need to develop balance between the state and federal power. The balance I power between federal government and state government will assist the two to control each other.
There various ways in which the state government should do in order to counter the overstretching power of federal government. First, the state government should encourage the country governors and state attorney generals to stand firm with the law against any views from the from the federal government that oversteps the constitution. Concern from the state governors and attorneys general legally over the powers of the federal government may play a great role in overcoming the federal’s increasing powers.
So far, the attorneys general have managed to challenge various provisions by various federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency using the state politics. Besides, to counter the powers of federal government, the states need to file suit against the federal government where they think that the federal government goes beyond its powers. An outstanding example of such a situation was the filling of suit against the federal government in 2010 by 20 states. The 20 states felt that the Affordable Care Act and Patient Protection Act were above the powers of the Congress hence they had no control over the Acts (Gaylord all).
Secondly, the state government through its governors should focus on amending the constitution to rectify the provisions that it feels that they give the federal government powers it does not deserve. Amendment of constitution is one of the important moves towards countering the powers of the federal government. However, the states through their governments should have a concrete arguments supported by the law in order to question for the amendment of the constitution.
The amendment of the laws in the constitution should also focus on reviewing the original constitutional laws of the United States of America. This will help to understand the responsibilities that were forwarded to federal government and the responsibilities that were forwarded to the state government. For instance, it is clear that federal government received limited responsibilities according to the constitution. From that ground, it will be easier for the state government to oppose the overstepping provisions of the federal government.
Finally, it is important for both federal and state government to sit down and review their responsibilities with respect to the provisions of the constitution. This will help the two bodies in understanding what roles and responsibilities they have hold. In addition, this will also play a role in helping them understand their distinction in constitutional powers thus encouraging each body to stick on its own powers. Furthermore, they should establish a platform on how to handle instances whereby one of the governments overstretches the powers of the other. In so doing, this will enhance efficiency in the exercise of powers by state and federal governments. The balance between the powers of the two governments with respect to the provisions of the constitution is a move towards countering the increasing powers of the federal government (Greenslade all).

Works Cited

Gaylord, Scott. “States Need More Control Over the Federal Government”. The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/07/16/state-politics-vs-the- federal-government/states-need-more-control-over-the-federal-government. JULY 17, 2013.
Greenslade, Robert. “Does the Constitution Grant the Federal Government the Power to Legislate over Land within the Several States?” The price of liberty. http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/06/02/06/greenslade.htm. February 06, 2006.