The separation of powers hinders effective government in the USA. Discuss. (30 marks)
The ‘separation of powers’ is a theory where political power is distributed over the 3 branches of government. This was put in place to create a limited government which would essentially help to avoid tyranny and protect the liberty of citizens. Some of the checks and balances include: the president checking congress by presidential veto; the presidential veto is checked by congressional override; the supreme court uses judicial review to decide whether legislation or actions are unconstitutional; presidential appointments are confirmed, and treaties ratified by the Senate; and finally the president is the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, but only congress can declare war. Checks and balances are needed alongside the separation of powers. Checks and balances are essential for the scrutiny of the three branches of government, however they come with some disadvantages.
One reason as to why the separation of powers hinders effective government in the USA is because there is often a divided house within government which subsequently results in gridlock when passing legislation or when each branch exercises their powers. It is not uncommon that the majority party in congress is the opposite of the party that the President belongs to. This usually means that the legislative and executive have contrasting views. Most recent presidents have accused the Senate of either rejecting or blocking their judicial nominations and as a result a large number of posts in the federal trial and appeal courts can remain unfilled for a long period of time, which slows down the courts. An example of divided government is during the last 6 years of Bill Clinton’s presidency (1995 – 2000). He was a Democrat president with a Republican congress. Because of this he had trouble over the passage of the