Posted on 02/23/2021 5:29:49 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden wants to vaccinate teachers to speed school reopenings, but more than half the states aren't listening and haven't made educators a priority — highlighting the limited powers of the federal government, even during a devastating pandemic.
"I can't set nationally who gets in line, when and first — that's a decision the states make," Biden said while touring a Pfizer plant in Michigan on Friday. "I can recommend."
Under the Constitution, the powers of the federal government are far-reaching but not all-encompassing. States have always retained control over public health and safety, from policing crimes to controlling infectious disease, including distribution of coronavirus vaccines that Washington helped create and whose supply it controls.
That the U.S. has the world's highest death toll from the pandemic has renewed criticism of the federalist system that has allowed the states to do as they please, with very different approaches and very different results.
"There's a pretty strong argument that the confusion we've created has, in fact, cost human lives," said Donald Kettl, a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas and author of "The Divided States of America: Why Federalism Doesn't Work." "We pay a pretty high price sometimes for letting states go their own way."
He added: "The founders were very conscious of the fact that it was a collection of states that had succeeded in winning the Revolutionary War. If you roll that forward, you end up with this patchwork of different vaccine priorities, mask mandates and lockdown rules, because the federal government cannot force states to do things."
The feds and the states have been in a near-constant tug-of-war that the states have "the authority to provide for the public health, safety, and morals" of their residents.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Oh, NOW they understand federalism.
Biden has no federal vaccination plan to combat COVID.
Did I get it right?
That’s racis!
Shot eqwity!
I love how the Biden-butt-kissing media bend themselves into a pretzel trying to explain why the vaccine roll out has been such an abysmal failure on Biden’s watch. Even going through the trouble of giving civic lessons on federalism and what daddy Biden can and can’t do.
With Trump, the media complained. With Biden, the media explain.
Simple. If you feel nervous about this China Flu get a vaccination. Then myself not getting one won’t be a threat to you. Wear your mask too.
But he is creating vaccinators. None existed in the entire country before he became president. Not one person could administor a shot.
Oh, so now the media reports this.
You can bet that if Trump were still President, this would be said to be his fault.
I wonder what color crayons are his favorite?
“...author of “The Divided States of America: Why Federalism Doesn’t Work.” “We pay a pretty high price sometimes for letting states go their own way.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.