I'm not sure if this term has really been used since revolutionary times in the U.S., but in this issue, I prefer more power to be in the hands of the central federal government as opposed to the states. While I agree that individual states should collect their own taxes, I don't see why certain laws and policies should be decided by states. Why should a drug be legal in one state but not in another? There aren't many cultural differences between states, and even if there were, why should it matter? Also, we've all heard of some of the ridiculous laws in various states. For example, oral sex is illegal in Missouri (sorry for the lewdness, but seriously!) As a more appropriate example, nurses take different exams to get licensed in different states. My family immigrated to this country in the early '90s and since my mother barely knew English, she took her licensing exam in New York (which did not require an English test), and then simply transferred her license to Connecticut (which did require an English test that she successfully sidestepped). This seems ludicrous to me, that such a universal license should have different tests based on state lines when nursing jobs in all states require all the same skills. In this respect, I think health insurance policies can be sold across state lines. I currently have PPO insurance (BlueCross BlueShield) through my father's job in Connecticut. It works out fine for me in California and I would find it ludicrous for it to be any other way. Of course, HMO plans that rely on tight networks don't work across large areas. But if the insurance company is willing to do it, and people have the choice of what insurance they want, then why not?! If the government really promoted an open market, and prevented monopolies from forming through fair competition, I don't see many reasons why allowing interstate insurance is a bad idea.
I'm hoping we talk about this in class, since it seems like an interesting debate. Regardless, it seems like every class leads to some interesting debate anyway.
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While I wouldn't agree with Filip's comment that most states are not culturally different (anyone that has been to the South can attribute to that), I do agree that most laws should be universal across all states and that the majority ,if not all principles, should be controlled by the feds. In regards to whether insurance should spread across state lines, I totally agree that it should be allowed for all of the obvious reasons mentioned before in this blog. Mainly it would drive prices down and ultimately reduce the amount of uninsured by a certain percentage which is more than justification enough to introduce it into the US.
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