Federalism Is At Fault

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/why-local-governments-fail

The impetus behind federalism was that the states in 1787 were essentially independent, sovereign entities and could not be gotten rid of.  In the following 235 years, "states rights" have mostly been used for mischief: the Hartford Convention, the Nullification Crisis, Secession, Jim Crow and now the refusal to cover millions of Americans with Medicaid because Obama.  The only instance I can think of where federalism was used for a good was the northern nullification of the Fugitive Slave act and that led directly to the Civil War.

The idea that the very fabric of governance under federalism is hurting the country is a pretty good insight.  To be fair, America is a large country.  But in some ways it was "larger" in 1787.  Today, Manhattan is "closer" to San Francisco than it was to White Plains back then.

Federalism also melds with the sovereign citizen movement to create a toxic stew of anti-government extremism that is currently killing people from Georgia to Nevada.

Working together is better than being torn apart.