intergovernmental responses

1. People tend to know so little about the workings of state and local government because of the lack of 'proper' education that is rooted in the United States. Even the people who are aware of the bottom-line workings of state and local governments either do not care enough about the subject, do not have time for the subject, or both. There is a lot that can be done to improve the general understanding of government at the state and local level. Like most issues in the United States, I believe real progress is achieveable if the amount and quality of education individuals received increased dramatically. Having for example, a states population be increasingly educated, the people will acknowledge the necessity of being involved in the state/local government as much as they can. As a 'democratic' country, our elected government officials work for us and not the other way around. With a lack of education and understanding of state/local goverment, officials in power have the perfect excuse to not perform their job leading them down the path of moral bankruptcy due to ever increasing coporate interests. Allowing such officials to continue being lazy without any attempt to correct this is what led the United States federal government to be ruled by a conservative duopoly that is controlled by corporate interests making the United States run by big companies in everything but name.Many individuals do not have the time or patience to try and be invovled in any type of goverment due to the never ending focus on just trying to survive and build up capital. Thus through proper education from an early age, individiuals will learn that the required time and effort to be included in our local or state governments is minimal at best. With the average public citizen great outnumbering government officials, there is no need for an individual who seeks to take part in local/state government to dedicate all or most of their time towards this endeavor. It is important to reiterate that government officials work for us and not the other way around. If the majority of American citizens receive a proper education from an early age, a dramatic push in American culture toward valuing education and learning in general would be seen. This new change in culture would benefit the United States greatly; giving new opportunities to citizens on a never before seen scale. Education is definitely the most important factor in regards to imporving the general understanding of government at the state, local and even federal levels. The average American citizen does not realize just how much power they hold and if the citizens decide to receive further education on government subjects, they will certainly realize that their life goals and ideals are possible. Increase in education leads to increase in participation which further leads into real change being done on every government level. There is no excuse to stop learning more about a subject but the current United States local/state/federal governments definitely do not help out with this cause. I would also like to add that this would not be an easy thing to accomplish. Not only would there need to be a drastic increase in funding for education across the United States, there would also need to be changes made to public universities due to their abnormal high cost. No one should go into debt just to be able to learn more and accomplish more in your lifetime. And since education funding has continued to be corrupted, there is little chance of this happening. Let us also not forget about the possible unversity/corporate lobbyists who would enjoy fighting against such an idea due to the profits currently being made by universities and private loan companies. Funding is not the only issue as the quality of education must skyrocket in order to help solve the underlying issue of lack of general understanding of local and state government. And most likely due to said corporate interests, local/state and more importantly federal officials would move to block this as soon as possible. Just like many governments throughout human history, keeping the general public unaware/uneducated is often a better chance to keep the status quo. 

2. I believe there is many reasons why people tend to know so little about the working of state and local government. For one thing some people are just not political and do not care. Yes, they expect their state and local governments to do right by them, but they are not interested in what they actually do. Many people have busy lives and do not have the want or the time to follow politics. Also, these people know that their state representative were voted for and picked by the majority of people, so they assume they have our best interests at heart. I also believe that many people believe they have no say in anything pertaining to our government so they wonder why they should bother to understand it.  Another reason that I think people tend to know so little about the working of state and local government is a lack of education or understanding. Many people just do not know enough to understand their local governments. A lot of people grow up knowing the basics like who is our governor and who is our president but, many of these people have never really learned much about government at a state's level. In high school they focus on the presidents and the checks and balances. They focus on this like learning about the two main parties but what do they really learn about state government?  The way we could improve the general understanding of government at the state and local level is to better educatechildren in school and to make people feel like their opinion does matter and that a difference can be made by them speaking their minds. I believe that people need to know what numbers to call when they have something bothering them or who to email. I also think that schools need to go more in-depth about voting at a local and state level.  By teaching children in school better about local and state government it will make a huge change. People need to feel heard, and they need to understand things to be interested in them.

3. In the United States, education is essentially a state and local responsibility. States and communities, are responsible for establishing schools and colleges, developing curriculum, and establishing enrollment and graduation requirements. The two basic purposes are to enhance student achievement and preparations by supporting educational quality and ensuring equal access to all students, as well as how to improve the results of our educational system for all students. This entails increasing community knowledge of educational difficulties and determining what works in teaching and learning.I personally do not recall discussing local politics in grade school. The most i remember is reading primary founding documents of the United States such as the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution etc...

4. Governments operating under the three branches of power, must implement the policies and practices in which citizens of the state and local residences, act in compliance with. According to the text, Smith and Greenblatt (2017), mention that states and localities certainly offer a broad range of services to its people, (e.g., college education, k-12 learning curriculum, various stores, etc.), but the logistics of those operations are mostly privatized, (p. 2). Thus, one must take into account the comparative methods government officials implement, to regulate revenues and enforce the laws associated with those budgetary consolidations. Other factors such as variance, sociodemographics, cultural attitudes, and economic capacity (infrastructure), are key variables that differentiate the guidelines of each state and locality, (p. 4-8). Another reason why people often know so little about the functions of state and local governments, is substantially due to the fact that state and local level populations are so diverse, tremendous, and even manipulating. Hence, governmental power in essence fluctuates proportionately, due to a particular product or proposal to a newly enacted mandate (democracy).To improve general comprehension of government at the state and local level, citizens should have the opportunity to join commissions and work alongside them, to ensure everything is being properly ordered and maintained. Conducting and hosting elections are also quite effective, so that majority say is sustained between ruling governors and people negotiating contracts. Lastly, depending on the location, level of safety, and environment (topography), appropriated funds should go directly to creating incentives for high school and college students, so that they are well informed of the government's constrained power, along with what rights and other forms of eligibility in a specific program of interest, they are entitled to. To conclude, government and its people, are a shared responsibility, meaning equal representation, among any supply and demand entity or chain, which is quite similar to the old adage of "no taxation without representation," throughout the revolutionary period.

5. People tend to know so little about the working of state and local government because the United States' governance is more of a network than a hierarchy. The policies and politics of any single government level are connected and intertwined with the other government levels' policies and politics in a complex web of interdependent relationships. The media has a significant influence on why people know so little about state and local government workings. Some of the reasons are understandable. In particular, local governments are preoccupied with relatively non-controversial routines, such as providing fire and police service, attracting businesses that can create more jobs, and keeping the roads in shape. People tend to let them do their jobs until something happens that directly affects their lives. People often do not understand how important it is to participate in state and local government events. People still need protection from crime and violence. They depend on state and local officials for that. Drugs, gangs, racism, and poverty confront governments on every level. Education, preservation, protection of the environment, and health care delivery all cry out for active participants to solve their problems. What can be done to improve the general understanding of government at the state and local level is to make community events and citizens already involved in spreading the knowledge. Making other people who are not involved understand how important the state and local government affects them and their taxes. Public education, utility management, road maintenance, criminal code and penalties, cost, and higher education opportunities are examples of why people should care and be educated.