How American-Style Federalism Is Hazardous to Our Health
The U.S. could have done much better in battling COVID-19, preventing hundreds of thousands of deaths. But its decentralized system of governance failed to rise to the challenge.
May 26, 2021 •
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Now that widespread vaccinations have begun to ease the terror of COVID-19, it’s time to look back for the lessons learned. Underneath the headlines is an important question: Did Americans suffer more than necessary because of the nation’s system of federalism?
The answer, sadly, is yes: Federalism as practiced in the United States has been dangerous to our health. The coronavirus death rate in the United States ranks fifth among the world’s largest nations, behind Italy and the United Kingdom but far ahead of France, Sweden, Chile, Austria, South Africa and Russia.