During the past decade, dozens of large cities lost population as
jobs and people kept moving to the suburbs. Despite widespread
urban revitalization and renewal, one fact remains unmistakable:
when choosing where to live and work, Americans prefer the suburbs
to the cities. Many underlying causes of the urban predicament are
familiar: disproportionate poverty, stiff city tax rates, and
certain unsatisfactory municipal services (most notably, public
schools). Less recognized is the distinct possibility that
sometimes the regulatory policies of the federal government -the
rules and rulings imposed by its judges, bureaucrats, and lawmakers
-further disadvantage the cities, ultimately burdening their
ability to attract residents and businesses. In Tense Commandments,
Pietro S. Nivola encourages renewed reflection on the suitable
balance between national and local domains. He examines an array of
directive or supervisory methods by which federal policymakers
narrow local autonomy and complicate the work urban governments are
supposed to do. Urban taxpayers finance many costly projects that
are prescribed by federal law. A handful of national rules bore
down on local governments before 1965. Today these governments
labor under hundreds of so-called unfunded mandates. Federal aid to
large cities has lagged behind a profusion of mandated
expenditures, at times straining municipal budgets. Apart from
their fiscal impacts, Nivola argues, various federal prescriptions
impinge on local administration of routine services, tying the
hands of managers and complicating city improvements. Nivola
includes case studies of six cities: Baltimore, Philadelphia, New
York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. He describes the
"politics of paternalism," the political pressures that federal
regulations place on governance. Then he offers comparisons with
various political systems abroad, including Germany, the U.K.,
France, and Italy. As the nation and its cities brace for a long
and arduous effort to combat terrorism, Nivola recommends that
federal mandates be evaluated with a standard question: are they
socially beneficial, or do they deprive localities of discretion,
distort legitimate local priorities, and perhaps misallocate
resources? In today's intricate federal system, the unencumbered
capacity of governments at all levels to define their roles and
concentrate on their core functions and responsibilities seems
urgent.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
