‘the Separation of Powers Hinders Effective Government in the Usa!’ Do You Agree?
The separation of powers is a theory of government whereby political power is distributed among three branches of government; the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. The doctrine of the separation of powers embodies three basic principles; limited government, which means that the government’s power over its citizens is limited by the Bill of Rights. Secondly is the separation of personnel, meaning that no one person can hold office in separate branches of the government at the same time. And lastly, each branch of government keeps a watch over the other branches of government and in some cases can overrule it to prevent them from becoming too powerful.
Neustadt (1960) wrote that rather it being a government with ‘separated powers’, the concept is better thought of as the doctrine of ‘shared powers’, which is what checks and balances are all about.
Checks and balances are exercised by each branch of the federal government.
The president is given the power to recommend legislation to the Congress. He does this formally in January of ever year in the State of the Union Address. It is in this opportunity that he effectively says to Congress ‘this is what I want you to debate and pass into law’. Also, the president has the power to veto bills passed by Congress. This can hinder the effectiveness of the government as bills put forward by Congress could be vital, but due to the powers of the president, he can reject them on the basis of his own opinion, which is not good as Congress will generally have consulted the public to put through a bill in the first place, showing that it has public support. However, this process works both ways, and Congress can amend, block and reject items of legislation that are recommended by the president, and can also override the president’s veto if it can gain a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. This promotes effective government as it takes into account the opinions of a much larger group of people (Congress)
Neustadt (1960) wrote that rather it being a government with ‘separated powers’, the concept is better thought of as the doctrine of ‘shared powers’, which is what checks and balances are all about.
Checks and balances are exercised by each branch of the federal government.
The president is given the power to recommend legislation to the Congress. He does this formally in January of ever year in the State of the Union Address. It is in this opportunity that he effectively says to Congress ‘this is what I want you to debate and pass into law’. Also, the president has the power to veto bills passed by Congress. This can hinder the effectiveness of the government as bills put forward by Congress could be vital, but due to the powers of the president, he can reject them on the basis of his own opinion, which is not good as Congress will generally have consulted the public to put through a bill in the first place, showing that it has public support. However, this process works both ways, and Congress can amend, block and reject items of legislation that are recommended by the president, and can also override the president’s veto if it can gain a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress. This promotes effective government as it takes into account the opinions of a much larger group of people (Congress)