>> I don't see how the state can manage a problem better than a city. > This is the core argument of economic conservatism. One level up is “CA knows CA better

>> I don't see how the state can manage a problem better than a city. > This is the core argument of economic conservatism. One level up is “CA knows CA better than the Feds”. One level down is “I know my family better than my town”. And one argument against it is that the lower level that "knows better" may not actually have the resources or capabilities to actually address the problem with that knowledge. That's pretty easy to see when you get down to the “I know my family better than my town [does]” level, when the only individual-level solution is some improbable pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps fantasy.