Quote:
Originally Posted by Ronnie Jane Devo
most people continue to view the federal government rather than the state governments as the place where the majority of big decisions (health care, drug law, gun control, abortion, immigration, etc.) should be handled. This seems to me increasingly a bad idea
What I'm curious to know is what role you guys think the political unification of Europe has had in this, if any -- whether the European Union is making '21st-Century governance' more possible for Europe, or whether it may actually be setting up Europe to be 'United States Pt. 2' by centralizing power too much and letting the wealthy elite run amok with the system. There is, after all, a major public debt problem over there, and of course many parts of Europe were hit hard by the recent financial crisis, which seems indicative of a predatory financial industry similar to the one that exists in the US.
|
The United States is a strong federal union, it was this union that allowed it to become one of the strongest superpowers in the world.
The EU is a currency union, unless its member are willing to concede more power to a German dominated government in Brussels, it is less likely that it will survive. I personally feel that their is a good chance Greece will leave the EU, you can only impose austerity on a nation state for so long. It would be better for them to seperate and spurt economic growth through currency devaluation.
Ironically I feel the United States governing weakness is its decentralization of power. Take the current administration, even though Obama has won the election, his ability to pass legislation is limited because the Repulicans hold the House of Representatives, it would be even worse if they owned the Senate. Any corporate lobbiest reform is sure to get watered down.
In the Parlimentary system of the UK, Canada and Australia there is no such limitations on power, you win a majority and you rule the roost, public outcry and fear of losing the next election becomes your legislative restraint, there is no constant haggling and deal brokering with the opposition.
I hold some sympathy to confederate/regional viewpoints, but unfortuantly too often their policies directly effect their neighbours, or minority groups within a state. Gun control is ineffective unless its federal ban, because semi automatic rifles can easily travel through borderless states.
It was also conferderate power that allowed racist Jim Crow laws to exist a centruy after slavery was abolished, it was strong federalist power that ended it through the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so me, a strong federalist who supports the centralization of power,