Tag: States
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Corporate Personhood: Constitutional Doctrine Without Constitutional Text, Part III
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Aug. 10, 2026) — Part III — Citizens United and the Rise of Corporate Political Power From Artificial Entity to Political Actor. The decisive step in the evolution of corporate political power came with Citizens United. The case did not hold that corporations could make unlimited direct contributions to candidates.…
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Corporate Personhood: Constitutional Doctrine Without Constitutional Text, Part II
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Jul. 27, 2026) — Part II — Santa Clara: The Decision That Never Explained Itself. The constitutional transformation of corporations from artificial beings to constitutionally protected political actors is often traced to the Supreme Court’s 1886 decision in Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Company. The litigation involved California’s…
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Direct Election of U.S. Senators: Reform or Mistake?
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Apr. 28, 2026) — Several Supreme Court decisions expanding federal authority, together with the direct election of U.S. Senators, have contributed to significant growth in the federal government. However, the role of the Seventeenth Amendment in this transformation is not often discussed. The constitutional change that transferred the selection of…
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Trump Admits Devolution of Federal Power to States Is Needed
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Apr. 13, 2026) — A few days ago, President Trump admitted, “It’s not possible for us [federal government] to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare,” since we are fighting wars. He then notes that the states will have to raise their taxes to pay for childcare, and the federal government…
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What Happens to State Sovereignty When Federal Money Stops?
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Mar. 16, 2026) — Now that the conflict between Minnesota and the federal government over immigration enforcement and the loss of federal funds is off the front pages, it is time to discuss the long-term constitutional issues involving state sovereignty and federalism. James Madison, in Federalist No. 45, argued that…
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A Constitutional Rupture, Feds Diminishing Federalism
by William L. Kovacs, ©2026 (Feb. 16, 2026) — The citizen protests in Minneapolis and the conflict between the state and local governments and the federal government highlight the need for cooperative federalism. In today’s polarized political climate, it may not be achievable, but it is necessary to keep the Union together. Recent headlines tell the…
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Hold Up, Feds, Without Federalism, There Is No USA
by William L. Kovacs, ©2025 (Sep. 15, 2025) — Federalism is a fundamental aspect of the American Constitution. Eliminating federalism would eliminate a major check on the power of the federal government. Since the 1930s, however, the federal government has actively sought to increase its power at the expense of the states. This expansion has…
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DOGE: Can’t Shrink Government Without Eliminating Its Power
by William L. Kovacs, ©2025 (Jan. 7, 2025) — The purported goal of the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) is to reduce the size and spending of the federal government substantially. However, this goal will not be achieved by its apparent approach of making thousands of cuts in funding and staff and by combining agencies…
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What’s All This Electoral College Stuff Anyway?
by Thomas Reiner, ©2024 (Apr. 2, 2024) — “The Electoral College needs to go, because it’s made our society less and less democratic.” — Pete Buttigieg Once upon a time, American junior high school students were required to take snoozefest Civics classes which at the time seemed more worthless than Algebra. Article this and Article…
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Enacting Devolution of Federal Power to the States
by William L. Kovacs, ©2023 (Nov. 20, 2023) — [See Parts I and II of this series here and here.] The devolution of power from the federal government to the states is highly likely in the next decade. It is not feasible for the U.S. to pay off a $33 plus trillion-dollar national debt that…
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Fix a Government Too Big to Govern: Devolve Power to States
by William L. Kovacs, ©2023 (Oct. 25, 2023) — For the last several weeks, Congress has been unable to function because of its inability to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives. Before that, it was an inability to deal with the debt ceiling and the nation’s massive national debt that has been growing…