What are the advantages and disadvantages of having so many levels of subnational governments in the United States? Explain. 150 or more words

When
answering this question, you should consider the two main sub-national levels of government:
state and municipal. (There are also county and township levels of government, but these tend to
be much less consequential). When the Constitution of the United States was being drafted, there
was a debate as to where power would reside in government. The federalist system that we have,
with its various levels of government, is the result of this debate.

One
advantage of having lower levels of government is that it makes it easier for citizens to
participate. The national government is huge and complex and competing with all the other
citizens of the country to have your voice heard and make an impact would be difficult. However,
directly contacting members of the local and even state governments is much easier. Furthermore,
local level governments can better serve the particular needs of their citizens because they do
not also need to balance the needs of distant and different parts of the country. Another
advantage is that people are free to reside in a municipality or state whose government and laws
better aligns with their values and needs. It is much easier to move from town to town and state
to state than to move to another country.

When considering the disadvantages
of having lower levels of government, you should think about how this arrangement makes things
more complex. When laws are passed on the federal level, they often have to be disseminated down
through the lower levels of government to be put into action. Sometimes states and
municipalities do not comply with these laws and the matters get tied up in the courts for
years. There can also be inequality between states and municipalities where wealth or certain
liberties are available in one place but not the other. Also, since laws can vary from place to
place, it makes it difficult for one place to enforce its laws when their neighbor may not have
the same laws. Consider Chicago, which has strict gun laws but also high levels of gun violence.
This is the case because people can cross state lines to Indiana and purchase guns that are
legal there and bring them back to Chicago, thus getting around the local
law.