Skip to content
Magazine
Saturday, August 2, 2025
SUBSCRIBE
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
  • About Us
  • Belgium News
    • Belgium Police News
    • Brussels News
  • EU Institutions News
    • European Commission News
    • European Parliament News
    • European Council News
  • Europe News
  • World News
  • Belgium Business News
  • Culture and Society News
  • In Depth
    • Ambassador’s Corner
    • The American Angle
    • Sustainable Perspective
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Place de la Bourse
    • The Macro-Economist
    • Southeast Europe
SUBSCRIBE

America’s other infrastructure problem centers around its Constitution

Lincoln Mitchell by Lincoln Mitchell
12 April 2021
in The American Angle

As US President Joe Biden’s far-ranging infrastructure bill attracts discussion, the structural issues at the heart of the US Constitution should not go neglected, argues Lincoln Mitchell.

New York (Brussels Morning) Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill has been decried by some critics as being too broad because it includes money for everything from high speed rail to fixing roads and bridges and from support for care providers to rural internet access.

The critics are correct in asserting that the President’s proposal is very far ranging and ambitious and that is precisely why America needs this legislation. Although this proposal is being touted as an infrastructure bill, it is better understood as an effort to modernise America so that it functions more efficiently and smoothly, and more on par with other affluent countries. This kind of modernisation has been needed for years in the US but the pandemic highlighted that need and increased the urgency to act on it.

Modernising America’s physical infrastructure will strengthen the US economy, help make it more competitive and facilitate continued American leadership on the global stage, but there are other parts of American infrastructure that must be modernised as well.

The US is still governed by a complex and brilliant document that is almost 250 years old. That document is an important one in the history of democracy but it is paradoxically also deeply undemocratic. The US Constitution is the political equivalent of a sacred text in America, but, like many sacred texts, it is no longer an effective blueprint for governance.

Structural shortcomings

The democratic shortcomings of the Constitution including the electoral college and the structure of the senate are widely understood today but the extent to which the Constitutional structure creates problems for American governance receives less attention. Relative to most democratic states the American system stands out in two ways.

First, the federalist system devolves much more power to sub-national entities in the US than in other countries. This sounds technical, but it means that American states have much more power relative to the national government that provinces or other regions have in most other democratic countries.

Second, our national government has many more checks built in that, while making it more difficult to pass truly bad laws, also frequently prevent basic problem solving and other functions of government.

During the pandemic, some have celebrated American federalism as it allowed some states, like Washington and some cities, like San Francisco, to effectively combat Covid. This a legitimate argument, but one that misses the bigger point. First, several states have had Covid policies that were truly dreadful and accelerated the spread of the disease. American federalism suggests that states have the right to make these kinds of decisions themselves, but the obvious problem with that view is that viruses don’t stop at state lines.

The only somewhat less obvious problem with this view is that no modern problems stop at state lines. Climate change, gun violence, poor health care, crumbling infrastructure, racism and all the other challenges we face are not confined to any one state, and what each individual state does affects the country as a whole. Ignoring climate change in Texas or Florida, racist voting laws in Georgia or Texas, or underfunded public education in other states damages all of the country and the entire economy.

Building bias

It is true that during the Trump era progressive states were important bulwarks against Trump, but that was not enough to stop Trump’s murderous mishandling of the pandemic or to make his racist rhetoric significantly less harmful. Moreover, Trump’s victory, and his party’s control of the senate throughout his presidency was a product of our electoral system that grows out of America’s federalist structures and is undemocratic.

One reason American federalism functions the way it does is due to the abundance of barriers to legislation at the national level. Checks and balances play a valuable role in democracies, but the US has so many checks and balances that it is difficult to pass any laws. While some assert that this forces people to compromise, what it really does it create a tremendous structural bias in favor of the status quo and, therefore, those who currently have power.

The need to pass a law through both houses of congress, the possibility of a presidential veto, the need for 60 senators to vote for cloture and the possibility of any law being ruled unconstitutional in any federal court are just some of the formal structures that make it difficult to make change. Informal structures such as the political power of moneyed interests, the presence of strong interest groups and highly partisan media only make this more difficult.

Americans are fond of citing the founders concerns about tyranny of the majority. However, the system as it is currently constructed not only prevents tyranny of the majority but also simply governance by the majority-or by anybody else. The result of this is that problems from infrastructure to healthcare to climate change and almost everything else go unaddressed at the national level and, at best, unevenly addressed by the states.

Fixing this problem will be extremely difficult, perhaps impossible, but until America’s governing infrastructure is modernised, the country’s economy, democracy and ability to lead in the world will be diminished.

Related News:

  • European Parliament look ahead — alternative fuels infrastructure, Ukraine, protecting EU’s critical infrastructure, Sakharov Prize 2022
  • Find the Best and Cheapest Fitness Centers in Brussels
  • Brussels Care Centers Resist Commercial Bed Purchase Plan
  • Acquittal could fatally wound the US Constitution
Tags: News
Next Post

Jordan’s royal crisis and increasing repression

Latest post

EU-elections-UK

EU elections: UK looks on from the “outside”

1 year ago
Galeries-Royales-Saint-Hubert

What Makes Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert an “Institution”?

1 year ago

Most Read

    Follow Brussels Morning
    Facebook Twitter Youtube Linkedin

    Browse Important News

    Belgium News
    Brussels News
    Culture and Society News
    Economy News
    EU Institutions News
    European Commission News
    European Council News
    European Parliament News
    Europe News
    Health And Fitness News
    Southeast Europe News
    Sustainable Perspective
    World News
    Diplomacy News
    US Elections News

    About Us

    Brussels Morning is a daily online newspaper based in Belgium. BM publishes unique and independent coverage on international and European affairs. With a Europe-wide perspective, BM covers policies and politics of the EU, significant Member State developments, and looks at the international agenda with a European perspective.

    More Info

    • About Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Contact Us
    • Cookies Policy

    Join Our Newsletter

    Brussels Morning Newspaper – All Rights Reserved © 2024

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Home
    • About Us
    • Belgium News
      • Belgium Police News
      • Brussels News
    • Brussels Bubble
      • European Parliament News
      • European Commission News
      • European Council News
    • Wider Europe
      • Member States
    • World News
    • Business & Society
    • Europe With Transparency
    • Culture & Society
    • Policy Talks
      • Place de la Bourse
      • The Macro-Economist
      • Sustainable Perspective
      • Ambassador’s Corner
      • The American Angle
      • Southeast Europe
    • Print Magazine

    Brussels Morning Newspaper - All Rights Reserved © 2020

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
    Cookie settingsACCEPT
    Privacy & Cookies Policy

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT