Primary Responsibility of the National Government
Laws
The United States of America federal government creates and enforces law so that the entire society can be stable. According to the constitution, there is process of making law in the nation as well as institutions responsible for the function. There is fear of entrusting one person with power or single branch in the government that is the reason why laws were separated so that power can be distributed among executive, legislature as well as judiciary.
The legislature creates law, the executive led by the president enforces law while the judiciary comprising of the Supreme Court and the federal court decides how the law should be followed according to the constitution. When these powers are separated, none of the government branches can influence the others. This means that each branch has specific functions that are supposed to be performed effectively for the benefit of all citizens.
Defense
The main responsibility of the government is to ensure that citizens are protected from war or attacks by the neighboring countries. The defense of the nation is under the federal government according to the constitution. The power to prevent war is divided between the congress and the United States president so that peace can be maintained.
According to the constitution of the United States of America, Congress declares war through an army or navy with the president acting as the commander-in-chief of the national guards and military. The President under the authority of Congress allows state militias to control invasions and suppress insurrections.
Two Areas of Government that Should Be the Primary Responsibility of the State Government
Education
The state government provides public education and ensures that all private schools are managed well. The department of education ensures that there is continuous assessment of students to determine whether teaching has been effective. The students with special needs are provided with resources that they need for proper learning.
The state government maintains all the buildings in learning institutions in good working condition so that the learning environment can be favorable to all students. The qualified teachers are recruited to offer quality education to all students without favor or discrimination. The state government ensures that there is supervision of all teachers as they teach to ensure that proper methods of teaching are applied.
Federal Mandates
The state government plan how the mandates issued by the national government are implemented. This ensures that all citizens are provided with resources as well as services according to their needs.
For example, pollution of the air is prevented so that citizens are not affected and their health is not at risk. The transportation sector has safety standards where careless driving is discouraged to avoid road accidents. The goals to be accomplished should be significant to the nation and not assume that an idea that works in one area is applicable everywhere.
The mandated costs estimated by the state government may not be available, which makes it depend on the federal government in order to be funded. The federal government should fund the state government failure to which expenditures are higher than the money granted. There is budget deficit if the funds available are limited and the expenditures are high. Implementation of federal mandates ensures that the services provided to the public are sufficient so that the operations of the government are not affected.