What is the difference between state and federal government?
Big House, Many Rooms
What is the difference between state and federal government?
Imagine the United States as a giant, busy household. There's one big rulebook for the whole house, and then each room gets to make a few rules of its own. That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the federal government and the state governments. They share the place — and somehow, they make it work.
Let's start with the federal government — the one that runs the whole house. It lives in Washington, D.C., and it handles the big stuff that affects everyone, no matter which room you're in. Think national defense, printing money, and the post office that carries a letter from Maine all the way to Hawaii.
