The job of government varies by level. Local governments tend to
concentrate on directly providing goods and services to people in communities.
State governments also provide goods and services, but they provide services at a
higher level than local governments, such as vehicle registration. In addition, they
play a critical role as go-between for the local and federal levels by transferring
money from the federal to the local government, and by relaying policy to the local
level. The federal government is concerned with national-level issues such as the
military, international trade and diplomacy.