17 Oct 2009

How Valuable Are States?

An argument today for and against the continued utility of states, state government and US Senate representation by state. An interesting debate. I honestly didn't know that the equal apportionment of US Senators was the one aspect of the Constitution that was explicitly prohibited from amendment.

Personally, I'm not sure that states need to be abolished wholesale (although there is a process for merging states with other states, I believe - North and South Dakota strike me as strong candidates for merger), but certainly the Western states have borders that are completely arbitrary and could be redrawn (along, say, watershed boundaries). But this has been done in the past (such as to Nevada), and does not necessarily question the validity of state governments per se.
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2 comments:

Andrew said...

This is the tip of the iceberg of a whole set of structural governance catastrophes in effect in this country right now.

Just to stay on topic on states though, they should be abolished. As constituted, they serve no effective economic, social or ecological functions. If we want to have mid-level goverment between localities and the Federal government, the new boundaries should be drawn either according to common watersheds, or along delimitable metropole-based socio-economic spheres.

19:22:00
Andrew said...

I will add this though - I see little reason at this point to retain another level of bureaucracy in this country that is arbitrarily constructed. The functions of states could equally be replicated, if not improved upon, by non-governmental organizations that provide services and accountability to people that choose to participate in them.

Because frankly, the states ability to effectively regulate 21st century commercial activities, or enforce laws, is essentially nil. The Federal government is the only instititution with the size, reach and resources to adequately service the needs of the American citizenry on such a broad level.

I thought it was absurd that I registered my business with the State of Virginia, and that I had to obtain a license to operate from the County of Fairfax. With what power and resources will they hold me accountable? How will they properly ensure my compliance with regulation? The reach of my clientele will likely be GLOBAL. Will Fairfax County intervene in Shanghai for or against me in any way that's meaningful?

19:28:00

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