Word: publius
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Publius, would retain the power to dictate overall national objectives...
...Publius argued that the Federal Government should allow states the "right of first refusal" in complying with Federal programs, but if they refused to comply (with an order to desegregate schools, for example) the Federal Government could pull the leash taut. New Publius expounds a sort of administratively decentralized liberalism: the Federal Government should define goals and establish priorities, but give over to states the powers of administration, since bureaucratic, central administration tends to be inefficient. The Federal Government, according...
Cato, a literal-minded constitutionalist, lets fly with oratorical grapeshot: "If New Publius is saying that once the Federal Government determines that a problem-any problem-exists and decides that something should be done about it, the States have the first option to take action and if they refuse the Federal Government may rightly act on its own-if this be his argument, then not only is it objectionable, it is revolutionary. Power implies the right to say No and make it stick, it includes the right of a State to decide for itself whether a 'problem' exists...
...with such debates in the past, it is a fascinating and difficult question whether there is a national social morality, where it lies, and who is to enforce it. Writes New Publius: "To the New Federalists, morality in the nation is determined not by government policy, church decree or social leadership -what is moral is what most people who think about morality at all think is moral at a given time." Rejoins Cato: "Morality then, to New Publius, is the temporary decision of a majority of those who happen to take the effort to think about it ... The 'national...
What are the practical applications of New Publius' theory? He cites the President's welfare reform as a program embodying national guidelines and local initiatives. Similarly, says New Publius, the Administration's revenue-sharing plan "recognizes the difficulty of State taxation and acknowledges the better judgment of most States in spending funds within their own boundaries." In each case, "the Federal government systematically yields involvement to local authorities without surrendering the ultimate responsibility...