Checks and Balances Today

When James Madison wrote the Federalist Papers, it was a time when the government was an oppressive, feared entity.  It should come as no surprise that he would suggest a system where the branches of government are separated and have the power to overrule the other branches if they are acting out of line.  But, does the idea of checks and balances and separation of power still apply to the U.S. government today, or has the system become convoluted since the 200 plus years when Federalist 51 was written?  With the way that our government is currently running, the system no longer works the way that Madison originally intended, however that is not necessarily an evil thing.  

One cannot deny that the government has evolved since its formation in the late 1700s.  However, many people feel our system is slowed and plagued by extreme bipartisanship.  As Arnold King claims, “Our modern government has left the original model behind.  We have what is sometimes called the Administrative State, in which power is exercised by independent agencies” (Kling).  With so many committees formed that are outside of the normal power checks of the government, what King claims is true, and this is clearly not what Madison had in mind when he wrote Federalist 51.  Many people also would claim America “has gone from a democracy to a ‘democracy’- from a system designed to prevent anyone in government from amassing too much power to a system in which no one can aggregate enough power to make any important decisions at all” (Friedman par. 1).  When the influential Madison wrote the ideas of Federalist 51, he was not planning a government that had to deal with over 300 million people in 50 states spanning over one of the larger countries in the world.  

If Madison were around today, he would have serious criticism for the government’s workings.  He would most likely agree that the system written over 200 years ago should be altered for the large size of today’s government.  The point of checks and balances was to prevent another government like England in the 1700s where one man had most of the power and could prevent action from happening or exert too much power.  The system today almost allows for no one to have power as it is too tangled in bipartisan battles and outside influences.  Today’s government needs a working relationship between the President and Congress regardless of party differences so the government can return to its original function; serve and protect its citizens.

Works Cited

Friedman, Thomas. "Down With Everything." NY Times, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/opinion/sunday/friedman-down-with-everything.html?_r=0.

Kling, Arnold. "Checks, Balances, and Audits." American. 2012,. http://www.american.com/archive/2012/june/checks-balances-and-audits.