Britain, the U.S., and the End of Local Government

Ted Bromund / May 07, 2009

Earlier this week, we pointed out that, under President Barack Obama, the dependency of the states on the federal government has reached a threatening and historic high. As USA Today sums it up, “In a historic first, Uncle Sam has supplanted sales, property and income taxes as the biggest source of revenue for state and local governments.”

There are lots of reasons to oppose this, ranging from its inevitable inefficiency to the unaccountability it fosters. But the most basic reason of all was one President Reagan understood well: the U.S. is a federal union. When Washington DC comes to set the policies of all the states – and whoever provides the money will indeed ultimately make the rules – the U.S. will have lost a basic part of its history, and of the liberties it was founded to secure.

But the U.S. will not be alone. If you want to get a sense of how far the process of centralization can go, take a look at Britain. There, local authorities rely on the Treasury for far more than 50% of their expenditures. (more…)