VII.               A Devolution Revolution?

1.       The Reagan administration nudged the political pendulum in favor of states’ getting lots of leeway, but the 104^th Congress, dominated by Republicans for the first time in 40 years, worked VERY hard to shove in further in that direction.

2.       There are three type of block grants: operational grants are for purposes like running state child care programs; capital grants are for purposes like building local wastewater treatment plants; entitlement grants are for purposes like transferring income to families and individuals.

                                                               i.      All of the block grants that existed before the 104^th Congress convened were operation or capital only, and thus, the 104^th Congress enacted a large number of entitlement grants.

a.       Welfare (Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and Medicaid were not created as block grants, though they account for half of all federal grant-in-aid spending.

b.       However, the 104^th Congress tried to turn these two in block grant programs.

c.       Welfare did turn into a block program, but Medicaid did not.

3.       Devolution seems to be driven by three things:

                                                               i.      People distrust the federal gov’t and feel that governments closer to the people can serve the people better than distant federal governments.

                                                             ii.      In order for the fed gov’t to decrease spending on, say, Medicaid, state governors must receive certain powers in exchange for going along with certain caps in grants-in-aid.

                                                            iii.      Most citizens also feel that devolution is a good thing, at least in principle.

VIII.             Congress and Federalism

1.       The devolution movement may gain steam or fizzle out, but in the end, the U.S. will NOT remain a wholly centralized nation.

2.       Still, Congressmen sometimes pass laws that impede upon progress because of their different backgrounds and because of how they expect their constituents would act on certain subjects.

                                                               i.      Organizations that once linked members of Congress to local groups have eroded.

                                                             ii.      Party groups are becoming more and more varied, and a city or state may not have a single authority that can represent it.

                                                            iii.      The best deciders of policies are no longer the politicians, but the occupation-holders like the teachers and doctors of a city.

                                                            iv.      People also differ on how they feel local and federal governments benefit them (depending on financial state, gender, race, and/or religion).

3.       On the other hand, it is this diversity that keeps federalism alive and prevents the United States from falling into a unitary system.