I’ve been pointing out for awhile that the principle of subsidiarity–that the competent authority closest to you should be responsible for resolving issues–is under fire from the exact people who pretend to defend it. The principle of subsidiarity is the basis of states’ rights and the Tenth Amendment which reserves powers to the states that are not delegated to the federal government.
I wrote an article a few months ago noticing that bathroom laws and plastic bag ban bans (not a typo 🙂 ) are two examples of how the issues near and dear to Republicans are being used as traps to get Republican voters to go along with centralizing power at the top. A great example of how this backfires is DOMA –the defense of marriage act. Marriage is clearly regulated by the states under the Tenth Amendment but Congress passed DOMA anyway and Bill Clinton signed it. Next thing ya know it’s a Supreme Court issue and the states have lost their right to regulate marriage as they see fit and the actual outcome is the opposite of what conservatives wanted.
So when I saw an article today about a state telling municipalities what they can’t do, I figured it would be Republican politicians following the script.
Ohio Lawmakers Pass Bill Forbidding Cities From Raising Minimum Wage
Move comes amid growing pressure in other states to raise wages for workers
Ohio lawmakers passed a measure Wednesday to block cities from raising the local minimum wage above the state level, amid growing pressure in other states to raise such wages for workers.
The Ohio measure was included in a broader bill passed by the Republican-controlled legislature amid a flurry of legislative activity as the session winds down.
For my past work on this see What Everyone Missed About the NC Bathroom Law (Including Me!)