Details
The federal government has only limited powers, while states retain significant authority to make their own laws and policies. As a result, people in different parts of the country may encounter very different approaches to issues such as education, healthcare, taxes, voting rules, marijuana laws, abortion policy, and environmental regulation.
At this meeting, we’ll explore the idea of states as “laboratories” for different approaches to public policy and consider the benefits and challenges of having 50 states try different solutions.
We’ll ask questions such as:
- Have you lived in, moved between, or closely followed states with very different laws or political cultures? If so, what differences stood out to you?
- When state policies vary widely, what kinds of benefits or opportunities do you see—and what kinds of difficulties or concerns come to mind?
- Are there state or local policies that have affected your daily life in a meaningful way? What was that experience like?
- When do you find yourself leaning toward local or state flexibility, and when do you find yourself wanting a more consistent national approach?
This will be an opportunity to explore different perspectives on state power, national standards, local control, and what it means to govern a country made up of 50 different states.
Please do your best to arrive at the beginning of the meeting – once we are in breakout rooms and the conversations have started, the meeting doors close to new arrivals. The breakout rooms open (and the doors close) approximately 15 minutes after the hour.
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