Discuss the Constitutional structure of the U.S. government and the advantages and disadvantages of this structure in terms of policy making.
What will be an ideal response?
The federal form of government asserts that all powers that are not described in the Constitution are vested in the states, requiring a situation of cooperative federalism, in which the federal government and states must share power. The federal government also has separation of powers among the three branches, with the legislative branch establishing laws, the executive branch enforcing laws, and the judicial branch interpreting laws. The advantages are that power cannot concentrate in one component of government, new policies must be widely supported in order to pass, and there are many people and units involved in policy making. The disadvantages relate to gridlock, inefficiency, and incrementalism, along with uncertainty over whether the federal or state government has responsibility for certain policies.
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