Today, our federal system is best described as

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Our federal system is best described as marble-cake federalism because there is a mingling of powers and responsibilities between the federal and state governments, rather than a clear and distinct separation of powers seen in dual federalism. Additionally, New Federalism sought to devolve power back to the states, further blurring the lines between federal and state authority. Coercive federalism involves the federal government using financial or regulatory power to force states to comply with federal mandates, which is not the primary characteristic of our current federal system. Layer-cake federalism, also known as dual federalism, was prominent in the early years of the country but has since shifted towards a more cooperative relationship between levels of government.

Today, Our Federal System Is Best Described as