This has had a significant impact on self-government, and has caused a profound and damaging change in the relationship of state and federal sovereignty. By closely defining how the federal government may spend money, we will define limits to its power. This article prohibits government from giving money to states or local governments. One of the worst aspects of the shell game is that folks in Phoenix end up financing mass transit systems for folks in Philadelphia. The only practical reason the feds send money to the states is in order to blackmail the states to do things they otherwise would not choose to do.
Federalism expressly gives states and local governments the ability to raise taxes and spend money.
Sound local control over local spending is an absolute necessity of sound democracy. Neither Congress, the President nor the Judiciary shall make any law, rule, regulation, decision or edict which would compel or direct any citizen, association or corporation, municipal government or state government to disburse their own funds, or to engage in activity which would require the disbursement of those funds, unless explicitly authorized by the Congress in accordance with Article 2 of this amendment. I am no legal scholar, and I am sure a bored lawyer could pick the wording to pieces, but I think the ideas stand up well to the tests listed above. This amendment does not prescribe policy. It does describe changes in the mechanics of government.