{"product_id":"the-price-of-federalism-paperback","title":"The Price of Federalism - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003ePaul E. Peterson\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is the price of federalism? Does it result in governmental interconnections that are too complex? Does it create overlapping responsibilities? Does it perpetuate social inequalities? Does it stifle economic growth?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo answer these questions, Paul Peterson sets forth two theories of federalism: functional and legislative. Functional theory is optimistic. It says that each level of the federal system is well designed to carry out the tasks for which it is mainly responsible. State and local governments assume responsibility for their area's physical and social development; the national government cares for the needy and reduces economic inequities. Legislative theory, in contrast, is pessimistic: it says that national political leaders, responding to electoral pressures, misuse their power. They shift unpopular burdens to lower levels of government while spending national dollars on popular government programs for which they can claim credit.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBoth theories are used to explain different aspects of American federalism. Legislative theory explains why federal grants have never been used to equalize public services. Elected officials cannot easily justify to their constituents a vote to shift funds away from the geographic area they represent. The overall direction that American federalism has taken in recent years is better explained by functional theory. As the costs of transportation and communication have declined, labor and capital have become increasingly mobile, placing states and localities in greater competition with one another. State and local governments are responding to these changes by overlooking the needs of the poor, focusing instead on economic development. As a further consequence, older, big cities of the Rust Belt, inefficient in their operations and burdened by social responsibilities, are losing jobs and population to the suburban communities that surround them.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeterson recommends that the national government adopt p\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeen in the perspective of 220 years of American history, the balance between the federal government and the states appears to involve the relentless accretion of power, resources, and responsibility to the national level. For any given generation of policymakers, however, this sense of inevitability evaporates in the heat of their immediate struggles over who does what and, perhaps even more importantly, which level of government pays the bills.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePaul E. Peterson \u003c\/b\u003e is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government at Harvard, the director of PEPG, and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. He is author or editor of numerous books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Education Gap: Vouchers and Urban Schools\u003c\/i\u003e, with William G. Howell (Brookings, 2004 and 2006). He is coeditor (with Martin West) of \u003ci\u003eNo Child Left Behind? The Practice and Politics of School Accountability\u003c\/i\u003e (Brookings, 2003). \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 264\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.66 x 9.2 x 6.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 01, 1995\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51782304366880,"sku":"9780815770237","price":50.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/d58ee8370fccae655d2013b5965ca00f.webp?v=1780567577","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/the-price-of-federalism-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}