In praise of state-ism
Less centralised government promises to be better government
California’s new laws liberalising cannabis are a good idea, but some of their provisions read like a parody of 21st-century liberalism. To right an injustice — that brown people were more likely than white ones to be charged when the police found marijuana on them — Los Angeles plans to help those with marijuana convictions set up pot shops. This experiment may turn out to be a foolish mistake (see article). But that, in a way, is the point. Congress finds it notoriously hard to pass meaningful laws and finds it almost as hard to undo legislation that has been on the books for a long time. Statehouses, governors and mayors are more nimble.
Sure enough, the Golden State is greeting 2018 with a host of innovations. Firms with at least 20 employees will have to offer them 12 weeks’ unpaid parental leave. Schools in poor areas will have a legal duty to feed pupils whose parents cannot afford meals. Elsewhere, Tennessee has a new law protecting free-speech rights on campus. Washington now requires employers to provide paid sick leave. Such state-level energy is welcome, partly because it generates useful policy innovation, partly because it mitigates the trauma of a divided country. But to succeed it demands a change of attitude from both parties.
