RE: How to Get Government to Work For Us...

This is similar to federalism in the USA. While the federal government has ultimate jurisdiction, there are only so many rights given to it by the Constitution. Any rights not enumerated there are reserved for individual state governments, making for a somewhat more local governance. It further breaks down to county government and municipal government. As you might imagine, this does cause some overlap.

But even with the overlap, things seem to get done. There are city streets, county roads, state roads, and federal roads. Each are funded separately. Although there is some variance in road quality from city to city, depending on budget and priorities.

Where the federal government manages to exceed its powers is by attaching money to their rules. Medicare and Medicaid, for example, are federal healthcare programs managed by each state. In order for the states to receive the money, they need to comply with the federal rules. Some states, like Texas, have other programs like CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), that are completely funded by the state without interference or requirements from the feds. Local counties will also tend to have funds or clinics for indigent care. The rest is made up with local nonprofit clinics.

In short, it is possible to decentralize financial control. I think the shortest path, assuming nonprofit contributions are tax deductible, is to fund local nonprofits. It denies the central government the money and ensures that the funds stay within the community.

Something that has fallen by the wayside is funding local parishes. The charity they provide has diminished as government has taken up much of the market. Churches, in my opinion, are a better use of money as they are, in principal, aligned with the interests of parishioners.