Our government is constructed upon a few bedrock principles, all of which are articulated in the Declaration of Independence and, of course, the Constitution. The prevailing elements of true American government emphasize liberty and a limited national government: federalism, protection of individual rights, and a balance of powers among the three branches of government. In this piece, I will focus upon federalism, discussing how power is being taken away from the states and placed into the hands of an increasingly tyrannical federal government, and why a national-state division is more beneficial to a society like ours.

The fact that we have fifty separate states suits the diverse, broad interests, desires, and ideologies of our more than 300 million citizens. A significantly expanded jurisdiction for federal officials leads to a one-size-fits-all environment in which the policies favored by whatever party controls Congress and the White House are imposed upon the population as a whole. For conservatives in Nebraska, this means that they must submit to progressive policies when the Democrats are in power at a national level, and, conversely, liberals in California are subject to the whim of Republicans when we secure a majority in Congress.

Both sides of the spectrum benefit from a devolution of powers to the state level; this enables adherents to each to relocate to states where their favored party controls the government. As a result, those who prefer massive deficits and expansive welfare programs will not force those upon Americans with differing views. Laws like Obamacare would not impact millions upon millions of conservatives who oppose its provisions; rather, liberals who control their state governments would be able to develop statewide health programs, while conservatives in states like Texas would be able to experiment with a free market in health care. This example can be extrapolated to other areas of policy, as well.

The recent government shutdown presents another example of federalism’s advantages, showing why liberals should support a limited, constitutional federal government. Currently, everything from retirement benefits to agriculture spending to environmental regulations is controlled, in large part, by federal authorities. In the event of partisan gridlock, these programs may be endangered for a temporary period, at least. However, if we were to reform government such that states gain control of most affairs, this would not be an issue, as the function of government programs would not be impacted by lack of agreement among the parties in Congress. Simply put, even in a federal shutdown, the parks would remain open. Even if state legislatures are unable to reach agreement, the majority of Americans would remain unaffected.