The dark truth about federalism

The Myth of State Sovereignty

You’ve been told that the Tenth Amendment is a shield for the little guy, that “states’ rights” keep Washington’s behemoth in check. The reality is far more sinister: the Constitution’s federalism clause is a license for the federal government to dictate terms while pretending to defer to the states.

• Empty promises: The federal budget earmarks 70 % of its spending through conditional grants that force states to comply with national policy (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022).
• Legal chicanery: Supreme Court rulings such as South Dakota v. Dole (1987) set precedents that allow Congress to coerce states with the threat of funding cuts.
• Political theater: Governors who resist federal mandates are painted as “radicals,” while the same federal overreach is lauded as “national unity.”

If the Constitution wanted a balance of power, why does the federal government control 80 % of the nation’s revenue streams? The answer is simple: power loves money.

How Federalism Feeds the Power Elite

Federalism is sold as a way to bring government closer to the people. In practice, it creates a dual‑track system where wealthy interest groups can pick the most pliable level of government to push their agenda.

• Lobbying loopholes: Corporations spend an average of $3.5 billion annually on lobbying (OpenSecrets, 2023). They target both Washington and state capitols, exploiting the fragmented regulatory landscape.
• Regulatory arbitrage: When the EPA tightens emissions standards, fossil‑fuel firms lobby sympathetic states to enact weak “implementation” laws, effectively nullifying the federal rule.
• Campaign cash: State legislators receive a disproportionate share of political donations from local industries, ensuring that state policies align with corporate interests, not constituents.

The result? A policy treadmill where the same elite pulls levers at every level, while ordinary citizens are left to watch the machinery grind them down.

The Pandemic Paradox: Federalism’s Fatal Flaw

The COVID‑19 crisis exposed federalism’s most lethal contradiction. While the Constitution grants states the authority to manage public health, the federal government seized the narrative, funding, and data—and then blamed the states when outcomes diverged.

• Fragmented response: By March 2020, 30 % of states had no statewide mask mandate, yet the federal stimulus allocated $2.2 trillion without requiring a unified health strategy (Congressional Budget Office, 2021).
• Data control: The CDC’s “data suppression” episode in 2021, where infection numbers were under‑reported, was justified as protecting “state autonomy,” while the true figures were hidden from both the public and state officials.
• Legal battles: The Supreme Court’s decision in National Federation of Independent Business v. Department of Labor (2022) upheld the federal vaccine‑or‑test mandate for large employers, ignoring state objections and setting a precedent for federal overreach in health policy.

The pandemic taught us that federalism can paralyze decisive action, while the federal government conveniently steps in only when it can tighten its grip on power.

Gerrymandering, Gridlock, and the Federal Cover‑Up

“Gerrymandering is a state problem,” they say. Yet federal control over the redistricting process would be worse, warns Brian Darling, a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of Federalism. The truth is that the federal system enables partisan manipulation to thrive under the guise of local autonomy.

• State‑level abuse: In 2022, 31 states used partisan maps that gave the majority party a 10‑point advantage in the House of Representatives (Pew Research Center, 2023).
• Federal complicity: The Supreme Court’s refusal to overturn Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) effectively sanctioned gerrymandering as a political question, leaving it unchecked at the federal level.
• Hidden agendas: Federal election funding is often tied to state compliance with national party strategies, creating a feedback loop where state legislators become pawns in a national game.

If federal oversight were truly impartial, why does the Constitution provide no mechanism to standardize district drawing? Because the framers feared a powerful central authority, but modern politicians love that ambiguity.

Why Your Liberties Are Collapsing Under the Guise of “Local Control”

When a state passes a law restricting reproductive rights or curbing gender‑affirming care, the outcry is that “the federal government is imposing its values.” Yet these same states often invite federal intervention when it suits them—think of the Texas “sanctuary city” bans that prompted the Department of Justice to sue the state for violating civil rights.

• Selective enforcement: Federal agencies launch investigations only in politically convenient moments, turning a blind eye to similar violations elsewhere.
• Patchwork oppression: Citizens in liberal states enjoy broader protections, while those in conservative jurisdictions face a legal minefield that varies street‑by‑street.
• Erosion of uniform rights: The Supreme Court’s recent decisions on abortion (2022) and LGBTQ+ rights (2024) have handed states the power to rewrite fundamental liberties, effectively dismantling decades of civil rights progress.

Federalism is not a shield for liberty; it is a shifting battleground where rights are weaponized to reward loyalists and punish dissenters.

Sources

• Center for the Study of Federalism – News
• The Conversation – Federalism Topics
• The State of American Federalism 2019–2020 (PMC)
• U.S. Census Bureau – Federal Grants Data (2022)
• OpenSecrets – Lobbying Spending (2023)
• Congressional Budget Office – COVID‑19 Relief Overview (2021)
• Pew Research Center – Gerrymandering Impact (2023)