Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 105 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds      

Trump's Absolute Power

By       (Page 2 of 2 pages) Become a premium member to see this article and all articles as one long page.   1 comment

Michele Goddard
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Michele Goddard

There has always been a tense balance between states power and federal power. Economics can not be ignored in this relationship. The financial power that Trump holds over the heads of states, in the form of federal money, lets not forget, comes from federal income taxes - in other words from wages of people in those states. All states are not equal in their financial support of the federal government however or in their dependence on it, according to a MoneyRate.com article. https://www.money-rates.com/research-center/federal-income-taxes-by-state.htm

In 2017 California paid $234.5 billion in federal income taxes. That's 15% of the total Federal Budget. New York paid $140.5 billion. But a more precise measurement of this give and take relationship shows that smaller wealthier states contribute more ,in terms of what they give than what they get, than even the behemoth of California. In short, there are wealthy states who contribute more than they get back from the federal government and poor states who get more than they contribute. Sounds a lot like wealth redistribution doesn't it?


An interactive map produced by the Rockefeller Institute of Government illustrates this point.

https://rockinst.org/issue-areas/fiscal-analysis/balance-of-payments-portal/ Of course the states can't interfere in the collection of federal income tax dollars but by the same token, it makes them more resilient to federal control because one of the ways the federal government "threatens" the states into compliance is by saying it won't provide money to the states. Federal highway dollars are often used as blackmail. Although the Constitution states that unless the Federal Government is specifically given a power by the Constitution, that power is left up to the states, it is easier said than done.


Sometimes an administration will try and bully the states and they will fight back with a lawsuit, which often becomes a multi state lawsuit. In looking at the history of multi state lawsuits I found it interesting that although Republicans claim to be Constitutionalists who want smaller government and complain about centralized "Soviet style" power, the states have had to react to government overreach much more under Republican presidents. Although there has been an increase over the last few presidents, there were 46 multi-state lawsuits against the Obama administration in his 8 years in office, there have already been 47 lawsuits failed against the Trump administration in less than 4 years. https://ballotpedia.org/Multistate_lawsuits_against_the_federal_government,_2017-2020

I don't think the states dealing with the coronavirus crisis are interested in having a showdown with Trump, but they aren't likely to back down to his threats either. And if they make that known, my guess is that Trump, like most school schoolyard bullies who realizes he picked on the wrong kid, will avoid the fight while boasting how he "could have won" if he wanted to.


Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Well Said 1   Valuable 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Michele Goddard Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter Page       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

I was born in 1970 in Wheeling, WV and have lived here all my life. I come from mostly Irish Catholic coal miners and railroad workers. My original academic interest was in teaching foreign languages studying both French and Spanish in High (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Hillary's Worst Nightmare Just Came True: Lev Parnas Audio Shows Trump Fears Sanders, Laughs at Biden

9/11 Truth is Going Mainstream. Now what?

The Spring Break Boomers Can Never Forget - Boomer War on Millennials Rages On Through Pandemic

True Populism VS Trumpulism

War is Hell - For Some

A Story of Self Destruction - Top-Down Democrats

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend