Is America so big that it's unmanageable?

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Or maybe I should be asking the more general question, is there a certain empire/country size past which governing becomes so difficult that further growth will inevitably lead to a collapse?

[6SpeedTA95]

Growth of the government or growth of the country? There is a difference.

[SpicyMcVoodoo]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

Growth of the government or growth of the country? There is a difference.

I don't know...I guess at the broadest level, I'm asking about the scalability of different types of government. For example, one could argue dictatorship works for very small countries, but always falls apart with huge empires. Well, if size matters , then what about our own system of representative democracy? Is it functioning better or worse as we become larger?

[6SpeedTA95]

Originally Posted by SpicyMcVoodoo

I don't know...I guess at the broadest level, I'm asking about the scalability of different types of government. For example, one could argue dictatorship works for very small countries, but always falls apart with huge empires. Well, if size matters , then what about our own system of representative democracy? Is it functioning better or worse as we become larger?

Well I think as intended by the founding fathers, with states maintaing much of the governmental control it would work fine. Could we begin to see some sort of limit in the future? Well perhaps...as government tries to expand its control I would expect there to be more resistance resulting in a more disorganized and/or fragmented federal government.

If the federal government would be put in check as it should be, then we'd see states maintaining more control over laws and things like government run healthcare, unemployment, etc. It is much easier for a state to manage itself and its people than for a centralized federal government to do it. The federal government makes laws for people on the coasts and routinely shafts the people in the center of the country. Why not let the people fo their respective states vote for such things as unemployment coverage, medicare/medicaid/SS etc.

If the federal government needs to have a hand in such issues I still say they can be better managed on a state level and employees being held accountable on a state level.

Basically government can become unmanageable. We've done well in this country overall but the federal government is beginning to grow far beyond its original scope and even things the government should do are bloated and in many cases ineffective because there is not a counter balance at the state level that is absolutely necessary.

[RMNIXON]

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

Growth of the government or growth of the country? There is a difference.

It depends on how much the government is trying to do, how much is local, and how much a central power tries to control. In the United States the local and State governments do many things that would fall apart if you tried to run them from Washington D.C. Divided powers work better than central power. Ask the old Soviets about that!

[AVengeance]

I don't think there's too many square miles to govern effectively. The problem is that the FEDERAL government tries to do too much. Eventually, our country will collapse from the inside, and other nations will fight for our resources.