Intergovernmental relationships

In the article "19th Century Division of Powers, 21st Century Problems: Understanding Canadian Intergovernmental Relations" from the module resources, the author explores three questions from a Canadian perspective. Read the article and then respond to these questions from a U.S. perspective: Why should U.S. citizens care about intergovernmental relations? Why are intergovernmental relations often fraught with conflict? What can be done to make intergovernmental relations run more smoothly in the future? In the article "19th Century Division of Powers, 21st Century Problems: Understanding Canadian Intergovernmental Relations" Wallner shares that Canadian citizens are desirous of some uniformity and standards across the country, and have an interest in ensuring that their tax dollars are being spent on programs that deliver desired services. The same could be said about citizens of the United States. Intergovernmental relationships are complex, with powers and budgets that can be overlapping or conflicting. The services that governments are attempting to provide today require specialized skills and often require cooperation across several agencies. When these agencies have competing priorities and varying levels of funding, relationships can become tense. To make governmental relationships run more smoothly, it is important to have clearly defined boundaries of responsibility. Additionally, it is helpful if the governmental agencies can maintain levels of communication that allow for a functional working relationship. When each party is able to understand their responsibilities, there is a greater ability to cooperate on large scale issues.