Safeguarding federalism

by John Douglas Nugent

"The checks and balances built into the U.S. Constitution are designed to decentralize and thus limit the powers of government. This system works both horizontally - among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches - and vertically - between the federal government and state governments. That vertical separation, known as federalism, is intended to restrain the powers of the federal government, yet many political observers today believe that the federal government routinely oversteps its bounds at the expense of states." "In Safeguarding Federalism, John D. Nugent argues that contrary to common perception, federalism is alive and well - if in a form different from what the Framers of the Constitution envisioned. According to Nugent, state officials have numerous options for affecting the development and implementation of federal policy and can soften, slow down, or even halt federal efforts they perceive as harming their interests." "Nugent describes the general approaches states