A quirk of mathematics gives voters in some small states, like Rhode Island and Nebraska, an extra edge over voters in other states. This happens not only in the US, but in other countries, too.
A view of University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Gary Whitton/Shutterstock.com
Ahead of two state elections, the Grattan Institute Orange Book examines the state of each state and how each can do things better. The good news is that if each copied the best in each field they would do very well indeed.
Energy Secretary and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry checks out a wind turbine.
AP Photo/LM Otero
There are some good explanations for the mismatch between regional support for climate action and the areas where renewable energy is making the biggest inroads.
Adul Sam-on (right) during the rescue operation.
Handout: Thai Navy Seals.
Capri Cafaro, American University School of Public Affairs
As states begin to plan budgets, the future of Obamacare is still undecided. A former Ohio state senator explains how budget directors are bracing for billions of dollars in shortfalls.
The South Australian bank levy could illicit a response from Canberra.
AAP/ Ben Mcmahon
Given the small percentages involved, South Australia's bank levy won't interfere with the federal government's levy, and would arguably be compatible with it.
The federal government receives more revenue than the states so it divvies it up between them, but with conditions.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Over the years, Puerto Ricans have in fact been granted three different types of U.S. citizenship, but questions about their rights and equal treatment as citizens still remain.
Choosing Cairns or Townsville as a northern Queensland capital would set off a political storm, as would new regional governments around Australia.
Dan Peled/AAP
Federal politicians and the public like the idea of abolishing the states. But consider the likely result: a more powerful Canberra, with regional governments amounting to glorified shire councils.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, meeting with state leaders today, says if we were starting from scratch we’d tax differently.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The states have historically fought to keep their income tax powers so it seems a joke to see a rejection of the Federal Government's proposal to give these powers back.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was often referred to as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining in the 19th century.
U.S. Bureau of Land Management
What explains the anger behind the Malheur occupation in Oregon, and why does the BLM own so much land in the West?
Solar downtown: state-level policies led to a surge in solar adoption and energy efficiency measures in the late 2000s.
Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
One of the main premises of strict immigration policies is that states have total rights over their territory. That doesn't make much sense.
The Australian newspaper reported that the Federal Treasurer has refused to back down on a proposed $4 billion cut to schools and hospital funding – a move that will anger the states.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The government’s attempt to engage the States on one hand while whipping them with the other does not augur well for tackling growing health and education costs -- or for lasting federal reform.
Since the first Commonwealth parliament, commemorated in a special 2001 sitting in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, government has grown in unanticipated ways.
AAP/Julian Smith
The federal budget reignited debate over federal-state relations with a decision to cut some $80 billion in funding for the state responsibilities of schools and hospitals over the coming years. So how…