| People like to say that, but in practice it's not true and hasn't been for over a century. It depends on the topic. When it comes to things like interstate commerce, you are correct -- the states don't each have treaties with each other. But when it comes to other things, like education, that's very much a local function. The feds set minimum best practices (enforced by the threat of removing funding), but it's up to the tens of thousands of local school districts to decide what to teach their children. Some of those local school districts are huge, on the order of 10's of thousands of students. Others can be as small as 15 or 20 students, or even one individual school. When it comes to the topic at hand -- GIS information -- It is pretty much a county situation. There are numerous competing GIS standards and products, and each county or municipality chooses the software that works for its needs, and budget. So, yes, there is creeping federalism in the United States. But claiming "it's not true and hasn't been for over a century" shows a lack of understanding of local civics. |
I think the US shows itself to be pretty homogeneous, with some differences between the rural, suburban, and urban areas, but not much.