The system of checks and balances in the federal government of united states was constitutionally made to prevent cases of tyranny (Weaver & Rockman, 2013). It was meant to specifically to coordinate the various branches of the government and control the power that each has. The system is essential to the people of America since it prevents one branch from being more powerful than the others which would be unfair to the subjects. Usually, there are three branches of government in the united states which are the executive, legislature, and judiciary. The legislature is normally headed by the Congress including the Senate and the house of representatives. Its main duty is to make laws of the country.the president id the head of the executive branch where he enforces laws, he possesses vetoing powers, and he is the controls the armed forces. The judiciary is controlled by the supreme court and has a responsibility of reviewing laws and analyzing the constitution. The three branches are controlled by the checks and balances system they powers and responsibilities harmonized (Miller, 2014).
The system of separating the powers was vested in the constitution. It has several goals which it serves in the federal government (Beck & Walsh, 2011). Separating the powers helps to prevent authority to accumulate in such a way that one branch of government will be more powerful than others. The separation of powers is what strengthened the system of checks and balances preventing chances of one branch being more powerful than the others and maintain equality in the federal government. The system plays a very crucial task of moderating the three arms and gives one branch an opportunity to check the balances of the rest to ensure that they all have same powers. This system builds confidence in the citizens of America and has trust in their government. They feel that their rights are protected. This could not be the case if each branch operated on its own since it would be constitutionally unfair (Weaver & Rockman, 2013).
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A good example of the checks and balances application is the process by which laws are made in the united states. A bill is first proposed by the legislative branch after which the Congress votes on the bill and then send it to the branch of the executive (Lasswell, 2012). The president makes the final decision on it as to whether it will benefit the citizens or not. If he or she is convinced that the bill will improve the lives of the citizens, he will proceed to sign the bill into law. If however, the president feels that the bill will not benefit the subjects, he or she can veto it. Upon rejection by the president, the executive may need still that the bill needs to become law and they can decide to override the objection by the president (Miller, 2014). They can send back the bill to the legislature and if the majority which is usually two thirds, votes for the bill, they can too override the president’s objection and the bill will eventually become law. The citizens can go after that challenge the passed law in a court of law controlled by the judiciary. The judiciary will listen form both sides and determine whether the law is constitutional. In such a case, all the three branches of the government participate in making laws and enforcing them. It would be unconstitutional if only one branch of government were in charge of making the law. The checks and balances system hence allows every branch to contribute to the lawmaking process (Lasswell, 2012).
The legislature is endowed with the law-making powers. Another power of the legislative branch is to run various checks over the executive (Zakaria, 2017). It has powers to impeach a president if only they believe that the president has failed his mandate. They also have the power to control the flow of money in the economy. They approve budget money for the president fro a federal duty meaning they cannot pass the same if they perceive it unconstitutional. They also recommend presidential treaties and appointments. They exercise their powers over judiciary since they can impeach a judge or approve the appointment of one. The executive carries out the laws. Noble powers are power to veto. It can call for important sessions of the Congress. The president has the power to propose an idea for legislation. The executive exercises its powers over the judiciary in that the resident can appoint supreme court judges and federal ones. The judicial branch can review laws and treaties to whether it is constitutional or not. This is the power it has over legislature and executive (Miller, 2014).
If the federal government did not have the system of checks and balances, there could not exist a stable government since the three branches would not work together (Zakaria, 2017). The constitution of the federal government of America is founded on people’s rights. If the system of separation of powers never existed, there would arise several challenges in the governance. The would not be a way of determining the roles of every government official. The system of the checks and balances is crucial in that it provides a way of subdividing the government into various branches that are governable and each chapter controlling a separate aspect of management. The system ensures the cooperation of the three branches by allowing each office to check the other. It would be biased for one department to check itself, but with the system, it is fair for an outsider to check on the branch. Although there have been some issues, the system of checks and balances in the United States has improved the government and kept the three branches in balance. The main objective of the checks and balances system and separation of powers is to provide fairness and equality to all American citizens (Beck & Walsh, 2011).
References
Beck, T., Clarke, G., Groff, A., Keefer, P., & Walsh, P. (2011). New tools in comparative political economy: The database of political institutions. the world bank economic review , 15 (1), 165-176.
Lasswell, H. D. (2012). Politics: Who gets what, when, how . New York: P. Smith.
Miller, G. P. (2014). Government Lawyers' Ethics in a System of Checks and Balances. The University of Chicago Law Review , 54 (4), 1293-1299.
Weaver, R. K., & Rockman, B. A. (2013). Assessing the effects of institutions. Do institutions matter , 1-41.
Zakaria, F. (2017). The rise of illiberal democracy. Foreign affairs , 22-43.
