The "state's rights" argument sounds noble and virtuous on its face. But, historically, we have realized that some states adop policies that are more repressive of individual rights than others. E. G. The repressive racial segregation of 'Jim Crow', voter sippression, restrictive reproduction laws, gerrymandering of congressional districts. These clearly show the abuse of power of a minority segment over a state's population.
There are other national issues which can only be addressed on a national scale. The immunization against this pandemic is obvious. States either need national help in administering the vaccine, or cede the effort to federal authority. Racist, brutal and inexcusable abuses of police tactics can't simply be overlooked by individual states, but be a national priority.
The cops in say Alabama, for example, cannot act with impognity toward minorities and be excused as just 'the way we chose to do things here'. We Americans deserve to be treated with empathy and justice no matter where in America we may reside.
Some states are considerably wealthier than others. These states can afford to build hospitals, parks, universities and public schools, maintain and build roads, bridges, ports, airports, water and sewer treatment plants. These necessities are budgetary pipedreams for poor states. Why should residents of those poor states suffer from the lack of such services?
How can depriving people of those necessary things help advance those poor states? It's like putting them in a pit and refusing to give them a ladder to climb out.
As cynical as some people are, we need national government to solve national problems.
The federal government taxes us to provide national defense, to establish justice, to provide for the common welfare, and to establish a more perfect union. Leaving that up to 50 individual states will never let us reach those aspirations.
