Tag archives: Federalism

Letters to the Editor
By Montecito Journal   |   August 6, 2020

The Truth About Kelp I read with interest Mr. Zach Rosen’s article on Chris Goldblatt’s reef project. I am uncertain if Mr. Rosen was obtaining his information from Chris, but his initial statements are inaccurate under any circumstances. First, El Niño events are directly correlated with warm waters and heavy rainfall. Not, “droughts” as he […]

A Trail of Tears
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 21, 2020

In our recent four-part series, “New Federalism in a Post COVID-19 World,” we extensively reviewed the pre-Colonial origins, the subsequent history, and the modern evolution of the Federal government’s relationship with the individual states. That’s what the subject of “Federalism” usually means in a political context, as if the only governmental authorities in the United […]

New Federalism in a Post-COVID World – Part IV
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 14, 2020

We began by examining the growing power of the Federal government, and particularly the executive Branch (the President). We traced the rise of Federal power, for better or worse, from the Articles of Confederation, through the U.S. Constitution, and through World War I up until today with the respective actions of states and the Federal […]

A New Federalism – Part III
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 7, 2020

The last installment in this series covered the rise of U.S. Federalism characterized by a strong federal government from the Great Depression to the 1970s, and the breakdown of that strong centralized role starting with Ronald Reagan and running through to the present day. Why did this happen? How did the Reagan Revolution so successfully […]

A New Federalism – Part II
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 23, 2020

In part one of this four-part series we traced the history of Federalism from the Founding 13 Colonies and the Articles of Confederation through to the Constitution replacing the Articles in 1789. We then saw Federalism evolving through the Civil War up to the present day. This installment looks at Federalism at its best (i.e. […]

A New Federalism Awaits Us in a Post-COVID-19 America
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 16, 2020

First of a four-part series: Up until January, the main concern being touted by political pundits was a fear of executive overreach from the White House. Resulting from several decades of an expanding role in the Executive Branch, an ever more powerful executive has arisen at the expense of Congress’ appropriate role. These fears have […]