June 4, 2019
Natural Disasters and Distrust
In an emergency, government must convince people it knows best for them. That's easier said than done.
April 1, 2019
Why Talking About Health Care Is Hard for 2020 Candidates
The biggest issue is difficult to debate, and it's not "Medicare for all."
February 13, 2019
Why Rebuilding 'Bigger and Better' After Disasters Is a Mistake
Communities destroyed by natural disaster all want to start over. Somebody has to pay for it.
December 5, 2018
'Jenga Federalism': Trump's Method for Undoing Obama's Policies
The White House has learned that there’s more than one way to attack a liberal-leaning federal government.
October 4, 2018
Trump's Failed Infrastructure Plan Is a Wasted Opportunity
The president's trillion-dollar proposal could have been a signature achievement.
August 10, 2018
How Do We Regulate Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies?
The digital currency market is changing so fast that any misstep could be huge.
June 14, 2018
Programs Like D.A.R.E. and Scared Straight Don't Work. Why Do States Keep Funding Them?
There's a better way for governments to focus on effective initiatives.
April 12, 2018
For Future Federal Drug Policy, Look to California
The problems associated with legalizing marijuana are seen on a much bigger scale in the state.
February 9, 2018
The Truth About Rising Health Premiums
Obamacare isn’t the reason they’re going up. It’s state policies.
December 4, 2017
Whose Disaster Is It?
No one wants to pay for natural disasters. But even small-government proponents may have to accept increased federal involvement.
October 12, 2017
3 Events That Shaped Modern Federalism
Over a generation, there’s been a sea change in the way cities, states and the feds deal with each other.
August 18, 2017
Infrastructure Lessons From One of the Nation’s First P3s
A 75-year-old highway project offers clues to solving a critical present-day problem.
June 1, 2017
Mission Compromised: Trump’s Nasty Dilemma
If his current proposals succeed, his supporters are in for a rude awakening.
April 6, 2017
The New Nullifiers: Democrats
Suddenly it’s the left that’s talking about defying federal law. The reversal raises a host of questions.
February 1, 2017
Trump Era May Become the 'Once-Great Society'
Much of what the new administration wants to change was built by Lyndon B. Johnson.
December 1, 2016
Trump’s Health-Care Dilemma
The president-elect and his Republican Congress will surely change health care -- but first, they have to decide how.
October 3, 2016
What Kaine or Pence Will Bring to the Vice Presidency
As the first governor on the job in almost half a century, either one of them will present new opportunities for the White House.
August 22, 2016
What a Box of Honey Nut Cheerios Says About Today’s Politics
The cereal’s new look shows how and why one small state could change the rules nationwide.
June 2, 2016
Lobbyists Leave Capitol Hill for the States
Money that lobbyists once spent in Washington is being redeployed to fight battles in state capitals.
April 6, 2016
College Debt and the People Presidential Candidates Have to Win Over Most
Presidential contenders have plans for making college more affordable. But it's an issue not easily solved from the Oval Office.
February 3, 2016
Private-Market Misfires and Misconceptions
When government lets the market fix policy problems, it often fails.
November 24, 2015
The Gap Between What Voters Want and Who They Support
The governors running for president possess what voters are looking for -- yet all of them are struggling in the polls.
October 1, 2015
When It Comes to Wildfires, Collaboration Causes Confusion
The strategy that's improved the management of fires has, paradoxically, made it harder to know who’s really in charge of putting them out.
August 1, 2015
How Hurricane Katrina Made the Feds More Powerful
In the decade since the storm, the federal government's involvement in disaster relief has risen -- and so have tensions with localities.
June 1, 2015
Are Schools Overregulating What Students Eat?
A recent incident involving Double Stuf Oreos highlights the debate about how much supervision of children is too much.
April 1, 2015
Are States Still 'Labs of Democracy'?
The growing role of federal waivers suggest the answer isn't simple.
February 1, 2015
Is Federalism Breaking Down?
Bad intergovernmental relations have the United States headed for fiscal disaster.
December 1, 2014
The Police Problem Hiding behind the Humvee
The militarization of police has come under fire, but it’s just a distraction from the real civil rights issues.
October 1, 2014
Paul Ryan Declares War on the War on Poverty
The Wisconsin Congressman's bold anti-poverty plan picks battles with conservatives and liberals, reducing its chances of passage.
August 1, 2014
Why a VA Scandal Is Unlikely to Happen at the Local Level
Measuring performance is hard to do. But it's even harder to do when you're measuring it from hundreds of miles away -- as is the case for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
June 1, 2014
How Much Can (and Should) Government Protect People from Natural Disaster?
By letting citizens live in vulnerable places even after disaster strikes, governments plant the seeds for future disasters.
April 1, 2014
Is a Constitutional Convention in the Works?
More than 225 years after the first one, states are considering whether to call a second as a way to rein in the feds. But no one really knows what a convention can and can’t do and how it would work.
February 1, 2014
How the Feds Finally Reduced Crime on Indian Reservations
The feds set a goal of reducing crime on tribal reservations by 5 percent. Here’s how they brought it down by more than 700 percent.
October 1, 2013
Leaving ‘No Child’ Far Behind
In the decade since the parties put politics aside to pass the No Child Left Behind Act, education policy has gone from pragmatic consensus to ideological division.
August 1, 2013
Governments Embrace More and More Revenue Schemes
The combination of a limping economy and tight federal budgets has led many state and local governments to ever more imaginative -- and risky -- revenue sources like violence and buzzkill taxes.
May 31, 2013
Boston Marathon Bombing Highlights Homeland Security Done Right
In the immediate aftermath of the blasts, several fundamental lessons were relearned.
March 29, 2013
GOP Governors Ask ‘What Would Reagan Do?’
Furious at Washington gridlock and seeking to get their party back on top, Republican governors -- like President Ronald Reagan before them -- are waging an anti-tax campaign aimed at the income tax.
January 31, 2013
Local Pot Laws Conflict with National Policies Worldwide
The United States isn't the only place where local marijuana policies clash with national laws. Even Amsterdam and the Dutch government have struggled with this tension. Read the rest of Governing's first-ever International Issue here.
November 30, 2012
The Top 5 State-Local Issues Facing the Feds
In the next four years, state and local governments are going to be at the very front of domestic policy -- especially on issues like health care where the feds have gotten most of the headlines.
September 28, 2012
Global Libor Scandal Cost States and Localities Millions
State and local governments have sued banks, claiming that they cheated them out of enormous investment returns at a time when their budgets were already badly damaged from the recession.
July 31, 2012
Whooping Cough’s Comeback Raises Questions
How states’ decisions to not require vaccinations and general budget cuts to public health have impacted the nation’s ability to prevent, track and treat disease outbreaks.
May 31, 2012
States Have 20th-Century Revenue Systems
States can no longer rely on federal bailouts or taxes. For the latest on state revenues, click here.
March 30, 2012
Insourcing Jobs Can Only Happen with States’ Help
Much of President Barack Obama's federal effort to bring jobs back home depends on states' ability to educate and train workers.
January 31, 2012
The Plastic Bag Ban: A Battle of Socio-Economic Policy
This latest skirmish shows how localities, not the feds, are driving eco-policy.
November 30, 2011
2012 Presidential Candidates Challenge Mandates
Republicans and Democrats call for fewer mandates. Both parties, however, have yet to answer fundamental questions about what government should do and how it should pay for it.
September 30, 2011
2011 May Mark the End of Federal Aid
The modern era of federal aid championed by President Nixon and his “new federalism” program draws to a close.
July 29, 2011
China Looks West for Performance Management
China embraces performance management in an effort to wring out greater productivity and transparency.
May 31, 2011
The Policy Battle Behind Chocolate Milk
As schools opt for healthier lunch options, governments are pitted against the powerful dairy industry.
March 31, 2011
Bankruptcy's Bank Shot
What connects government default, short selling and union bashing?
February 1, 2011
Medicaid, Incentives and the Future of Federalism
States are unhappy with Medicaid costs, but they’re not willing to surrender federal incentives to cut them.
December 1, 2010
Dealing With Deficits in Anti-Big Government Administrations
Governors who campaigned against stimulus spending face hard choices.
October 1, 2010
Why States and Localities Are Watching the Lower Federal Courts
Court cases rarely travel up to the Supreme Court, so lower courts are often the last stop for controversial cases.
Marijuana: To Legalize or Not to Legalize?
Federal, state and local governments can't seem to agree whether to legalize cannabis.
June 1, 2010
What Really Matters in Health-Care Reform
Health-care politics continues to grab headlines, but what's important lies elsewhere.
The Looming Infrastructure Crisis
Financial, policy and political problems are hurting efforts to fix our infrastructure.
February 1, 2010
A Decade To Remember
10 years, 10 highlights for federalism.
Washington's New Stinginess
There's no more cash for state and local governments in the latest round of federal spending to prop up the economy.
The Poisoned Bill
State budget cuts are undermining national health reform.
Imbalance of Powers
The feds aren't just handing out money -- they're redistributing clout.
After the Stimulus Ends
States and localities face problems a rising economy won't solve.
A Time for Strings
We need to stimulate state and local economies. We also need to keep close watch on what we're stimulating.
The Disaster Tripwire
The tough choices on emergency response are gradually migrating to Washington.
College of Chaos
We all know there's something wrong with our rules for electing a president. But fixing it has proved impossible.
Katrina Plus Three
There's a lot to learn from the great storm of 2005. We're a little slow putting it to work.
Hamilton and Jefferson Revisited
The states and feds started fighting about banking law in 1789. They're still at it.
NCLB on the Ropes
The fine print in the federal education law may be its undoing.
Department of Yesterday
Somebody needs to push EPA into the 21st century.
No Political Traction
Federalism isn't irrelevant to the 2008 presidential campaign. It's just that no candidate is framing ways for the feds to deal with the big issues.
Build, Crumble and Build More
Why don't we fix old roads and bridges? Because it's more fun to make new ones.
Homeland Psychiatry
War veterans are coming home in worse mental shape than anybody expected.
Race Revisited
The U.S. Supreme Court is going to rule on racial quotas in the
schools. The decision may shape social policy for decades.
PIGs Without Pork
State and local interest groups don't wield the clout they once had in Washington. But there's crucial work for them to do.
Do They Know Darfur?
Governors running for president will have some uncomfortable moments in the year ahead.
Senator Warner's Posse
A new federal law gives the military a domestic function it hasn't had before.
Mission Improbable
By the time you read this, the bipartisan fling may be over.
Unwanted Weapons
Gun violence is a problem that governments at every level wish
somebody else would solve.
It's Broke--Fix It
The problem in New Orleans isn't FEMA but federalism.
February 1, 2006
Machine Politics
Technology alone won't fix what's wrong with our voting procedures.
Fight Against Fat
State and local governments are discovering new weapons in the battle
to keep citizens in shape.
Vintage Conservatism
The U.S. Supreme Court is about to turn right. Will that help states?
Not necessarily.
Border Wars
Immigration used to be considered strictly a federal issue. But it's
heating up in legislatures all over the country.
Looking For a Real Crisis: Try Medicaid
Social Security may be running out of money, but at least it's a
single coherent program. Medicaid is a monster with countless heads.
Special Dilemma
The feds are promising to help with special education costs. They've
been making that promise for the past 30 years.
December 1, 2004
More than the Flu
This fall's vaccine shortage was an early warning of more serious
trouble in the nation's public health systems.
October 1, 2004
Domestic Duel
If you look behind the headlines, the presidential campaign is very
much a clash of domestic ideology.
August 1, 2004
Radical Federalist
When it comes to relations between the states and Washington, the
Reagan era is still going on.
June 1, 2004
Polar Campaigning
Centrism is smart presidential politics. But it's ideological zeal
that dominates the state electoral scene these days.
April 1, 2004
Unconnected Dots
State and local governments aren't being let in on the national
homeland security strategy. That may be because there isn't one.
February 1, 2004
Federalism, Anyone?
No Child Left Behind represents a major change in state-federal
relations. But it may not be a good campaign issue for the president.
December 1, 2003
Tribes And War Chests
Once political outcasts, Native Americans are now big players in state
campaigns.
October 1, 2003
Innovation Freeze
We've come to depend on states as the source of new policy ideas. They
aren't producing many right now.
August 1, 2003
Madates Forever
Congress promised to stop imposing mandates on states and localities
without paying for them. But the temptation is irresistible.
June 1, 2003
Unreliable Source
Thirty years ago, we wanted to control 'new source' air pollution in
the worst way. That's about what we did.
April 1, 2003
A Long Way From Austin
You'd think presidents who used to be governors would cut the states a
break. It never seems to happen.
February 1, 2003
Bush and The 50 Beggars
States are beseeching the White House for some dollars to tide them
over while they get back on their feet. The White House isn't going
for it.
December 1, 2002
Sacramento Rules
While Congress and the EPA fight political wars, states are making the
crucial environmental decisions.
October 1, 2002
Connecting the Dots
The feds can create a new security agency. But they can't make us
secure. That has to happen at the grassroots.
August 1, 2002
Dusting Off 'Dignity'
How much further can the U.S. Supreme Court go on states' rights?
June 1, 2002
'West Wing' Fallout
When a TV show deals with the risks of nuclear storage, it can tip an
already unstable political balance.
April 1, 2002
Government by Traffic Light
The Bush administration's performance-measurement plans may mean a new challenge to state and local control.
February 1, 2002
Grappling Over Power
Worried about a repeat of California's rolling blackouts, the feds
have pushed the states to create new super-grids.
December 1, 2001
Devolve and Protect
Governmental power has been decentralizing for 20 years now. Some
think that's over. They should think again.
October 1, 2001
Election-Reform Quagmire
No one disputes that voting procedures need some serious reform. But
whose job is it to fix them?
August 1, 2001
Real-Life Federalism
The key to sensible government reform is refocusing the system around
results.
June 1, 2001
The Next Welfare Debate
We've learned a lot about cutting caseloads. The next step is to focus
on keeping people out of poverty.
April 1, 2001
Having Faith in Faith
The way to evaluate the president's initiative is by what it achieves,
not how it's organized.
February 1, 2001
Putting Bush to the Test
The next four years may alter the state-federal relationship for
decades to come.
December 1, 2000
Is the Past Prologue?
This year's election could have the same profound impact on American
politics as the 1896 presidential contest.
October 1, 2000
The Battle of Compassion
Suddenly, the GOP is the party of grassroots social action.
August 1, 2000
Which One is Your Pal?
The presidential candidates' speeches provide few clues about their
views on federal-state relations.
June 1, 2000
Reform, American Style
Reinventing government from the bottom up is excruciatingly hard. But
in the long run, it may be the best way.
April 1, 2000
The States and the Senate
Last month's `summit' meeting started on the subject of taxes. But it
ended with a much broader challenge.
February 1, 2000
Litigation-Based Federalism
The tobacco and gun lawsuits stand the traditional checks-and-balances
system on its ear and marginalize Congress.