What are the duties of the state and federal governments?

Question

What are the powers and duties of the state and federal governments? Answer are greatly appreciated :D Thanks xx

Answer 1

Their duties are to protect the rights and property of the citizens, ...provide for national defense, and to build and maintain the infrastructure necessary for common growth.  Their powers are, through legislation, the ability to tax and to police, and in rare cases, confiscate property.    Governments powers are enumerated in the Constitution.  Remember, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are more about what government can't do, and less about what the people can do.  It's a given that if it's not listed,  the benefit of the doubt goes to the peoples liberties.  (kinda wht the 10th amendment is about)   Like the others have said, they've abused the powers we've given them over and over.

Answer 2

To tax, tax, tax, tax and tax and give it all away to foreign governments, big oil and Haliburton.     They also like to waste it on wars that the American people don't want.

Local governments tax, tax, tax and waste it on their cronies and useless expenditures, and then whine and complain that they want more and more money.

Answer 3

In the USA our federal government has taken on responsibilities that are not really theirs.  They do this for political reasons.  

The federal government, according to the premable to the constitution, is the protect, defend, ensure domestic peace, and promote general welfare.  It is not to make sure people don't have to work, that we have a social handout system like our current "welfare" system or the "social security" system.  What they should be worried about is having a strong enough military to ensure that we are not threatened.  We however think we are the moral police of the world and we abuse the mighty military in being sure that every one see the world our way.  

States are responsible for the local variations of these issues with a focus on the local needs.  For example the interier states would have less need of some security issues than a border state.  Education is a major function of the state.  

Because we have people who's primary focus is keeping their job in Washington, rather than what is good for our Country we have lost the focus on these major issues.

I love our country.  I would prefer that things were different.  But such is not the case.

When we have the two choices we have for President this fall it is an example of how far we have fallen.  Could a country as great as we are not come up with better candidates than these two?

Good Luck

Answer 4

to tax and to tax, yet again