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| Americans, you have your City Mayor, State Governor, Representatives & Senators and President, who impacts your life most? |
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Asked 2 years ago
by Asroc  United Kingdom |
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About
Fun-loving, patriotic, Englishman with a warped sense of humour.
It professional of many years.
Hobbies include games, sci-fi and fantasy, military history, live music.
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8 Points
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this is a question that i really like to know! can any one tell me? i guess it would be governor!
I was unsure about this one. usually it is local government that effects you the most, but I chose governor. The effect a mayor has on you can vary from state to state and town to town, depending on the way the locals structure their government. A governor is more like a president for a state (indeed, he has more individual power than a president does.) Probably the real answer is mayor, though.
I think this was a similar question asked when our government was being formed after the Revolution. This is where the Federalists and Anti-Federalists come into play. The Federalists wanted a stronger federal government and the Anti-Feds wanted a very limited federal government, giving the rights to the people. Ultimately the Feds won the game. It has snowballed today where the Federal government has pretty much control over everything. The elected representatives (congressmen, senators) now cater to lobbyists instead of the American people who elect them. Therefore the "checks and balance" system has become unbalanced and even the power of certain branches of the government (the executive) has become very powerful.
While the local and state governments have a direct impact on people's lives mostly when it comes to property/school taxes, I think ultimately the Federal government has the most impact on its people. The states are suppose to govern themselves, but take this instance for example: There's a reason why the drinking age in America is 21 instead of 18. While this should be decided by the voters in each individual state, the Federal government took it upon themselves to force the state governments to see it their way. If individual states did not change the drinking age to 21 then the Federal government would withhold funding for roads, which is a lot of cash.
While we are taught and told that the government is ran by us, the "little people," it couldn't be farther from the truth. I believe ultimately the federal government has more power than any other form of government in the country.
--Eirrac (Yank in Canada)
I think the president because of trickle down effects.
Since I live abroad, I would definitely say the prez.
Well that is a very interesting delema to think about, being that the States in the United States operate dramatically different then a "state" or other subdivision in another country. In the U.S. each state is essentially a "country within a country", which is defined under the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Other then the few things defied under the 10th amendment, such as no state can have it's own currency or it's own military, etc., each state, as said above, is essentially it's own sovereign nation.
At the federal government level, there are three branches: Legislative, Executive, Judicial. There are the same branches as well at the state level, for example, in California, there are three branches of government as well. California has it's own Legislative branch [Senators and Representatives], Executive [the governor,"president of the state"], and Judicial.
Being that each state is it's own "country", federal law does not not supersede state law. An example of this is that medical marijuana is legal under California state law, and medical marijuana is not legal under the federal law. A California state officer must abide by the state laws, and one can not be arrested for medical marijuana by a state police officer, but can be intervened by a federal officer, being that it is illegal under federal law. Being that it is illegal under federal law, a marijuana dispensary that legally sells marijuana under California law can potentially be busted by the Federal government.
But back to my point, being that i live in a "country within a country", it is hard to say. I would personally have to say what affects me the most is the Senators and Representatives at my state level, being that they pass laws for my state. And my state laws affect me the most. Again on that "country within country", each state has it's own elections for state laws and government leaders, similar to a presidential election.
Fascinating. A quite even split across the options.
Sounds like it depends where you are in the food chain who you feel has most influence over you.