Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
American Government 2e

Introduction

American Government 2eIntroduction

An image of six handwritten signs. The signs read “Don’t bother funding my education… I want to grow up to be a burden on the state”, “Every child has a right to an education! Our responsibility is to fund it!”, “Education costs $! Ignorance costs more”, “Race to the bottom??”, “I am a… proud mom, proud teacher, proud wife of a teacher. No more cuts!”, and “Invest in my future”.
Figure 14.1 In February 2015, parents, students, and teachers rallied against proposed cuts in education funding in the state budget put forth by Arizona governor Doug Ducey. Education policy and administration is primarily a state and local matter. (credit: modification of work by Andy Blackledge)

Controversial national policy decisions by lawmakers and justices tend to grab headlines and dominate social media, while state and local government matters often evoke less enthusiasm. Yet, if we think about which level of government most directly affects us on a daily basis, it is undoubtedly the level closest to us, including our city, county, school districts, and state government. Whether it is by maintaining roads we drive on each day, supplying clean water with which we brush our teeth, or allocating financial support to higher education, state and local government provides resources that shape our everyday lives, including your final tuition bill (Figure 14.1).

How do state and local governments gain the authority to make these decisions, and how are their actions guided by cultural and other differences between the states? What tensions exist between national and state governments on policy matters, and what unique powers do mayors and governors enjoy? By answering these and other questions, this chapter explores the role of state and local governments in our lives.

Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/american-government-2e/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Mar 9, 2022 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.