"If the authors of the Federalist Papers could see America today, what do you think that they would say about the balance of power between national and local entities?" - @dbruce
In my opinion, the authors of the federalist papers would be quite disapointed in the America that exists today. When discussing the federalist papers, it is important to note that they were written in order to pursuade states to ratify the constitution(Constitutional Rights Foundation). In addition it is also important to note that Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay are considered the authors of the federalist papers and each would more than likely have a different level of disapointment. In particular, Hamilton would probabaly be the least offended by Americas current situation because he tended to prefer big government ideas but chose to compromise on less government power with the constituion. Despite this, I still believe that Hamilton would percieve the current US government as more tyranical than Great Britian in the 1770s.
With the idea that the federalist papers were written to help ratify the constitution, it is also important to notice which constitutional rights are currently being eroded away such as the right to protest, bear arms, and have privacy. The authors would also take great offense to the high taxes that americans face considering that we seem to pay much more than the amount that appeared to start the revolutionary war. In terms of balance of power, I would think that the federalists would want to strip the federal government of much of its power and return some of that power to the individual states. Overall, the US has drifted from federalism, but many see a return to federalism as a valid way to keep the federal government in check, as well as a way to allow states to experiment with policies and laws to learn what works best.
Works Cited
"Constitutional Rights Foundation." Constitutional Rights Foundation, www.crf-usa.org/foundations-of-our-constitution/the-federalist-papers.html.