Question:
Some critics argue that America has too many elections, a surplus of elected officials, and unwieldy layers of government. Indeed, with literally thousands of local governments dotting the political landscape of the United States, one can argue that too many jurisdictions overlap that occasionally impede the delivery of core services. Others argue that multiple layers of government add to greater accountability and more choices for ordinary citizens. Discuss the degree to which you believe that local governments should have greater autonomy in making decisions. Do you think that power within states would be better centralized in state government as opposed to delegated to local governments? Is there sufficient expertise within local governments to address significant issues of the day? Are there fundamentally too many layers of government - especially at the local level?