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This post is in response to a question posed by @dbruce:
One effect of federalism is laws and policies being specific to certain areas of the country. What level of government should policy decisions be made at to have the resulting laws be representative of those that it is governing? National? State? County? City?
This country is like a salad of different cultures, values, and priorities. While many try to claim it as a melting pot where everything is mixed and comes together to reach a common goal, that is simply not the case. No single region in all of these 50 states needs exactly the same resources or protections. Every difference simply sits on top of the others and waits to be recognized. Therefore, laws should not be all encompassing entities handed down by the national government, even if it would make operations less complicated in the long run. If left up to those in Washington, D.C., the needs and desires of certain populations within the United States may be overlooked because their experiences are unique and harder to understand. Even leaving these crucial decisions up to the individual states or counties would be a mistake. Some states have incredibly large counties with such a variety of populations that they would never be able to meet everyone’s needs and someone would inevitably get left out. Take Palm Beach County in Florida for example; this is the county that I went to school in. This county is so large that you can drive an hour north or west from Boca Raton, where I went to school, and never leave Palm Beach County. Encased within this large perimeter is a variety of demographics. From the more affluent, suburban areas like Boca Raton and West Palm Beach to the more rural areas like Belle Glade and Clewiston, the needs and desires of citizens may change dramatically. Unfortunately, since the affluent areas are known to overpower the rural ones, the needs of those citizens in Belle Glade and Clewiston may never get addressed. Thus, it should be up to each individual city or town to make policy decisions that are representative of the true population being served.