ABSTRACT
The history of US federalism—the "territorial allocation of government authority secured by constitutional guarantees"—reveals a shifting mix of responsibilities and relationships among levels of government. Because officials at various levels of the US federal system share rather than divide up powers and functions, the intergovernmental distribution of resources and program responsibilities is a persistent political issue. In Michael Smith's view, "fiscal welfare—the allocation of tax benefits to private individuals, groups, or organizations in order to get them to pursue a public purpose" displaced social welfare as the principal urban policy tool under the Ronald Reagan administration. Neo-Progressivism, David Osborne argues, is a new political synthesis born of dialectic between Welfare State liberalism and New Federalist conservatism. The New Federalists increasingly used off-budget expenditures in key urban policy areas, including education, training, employment, social services, and neighborhood development.
