Final answer:
The power to legislate for public order, health, safety, and welfare is known as the police power or reserved powers of the government. State governments exercise this to regulate everyday life activities, while the federal government promotes general welfare through taxation and provision of services like Social Security.
Step-by-step explanation:
The power vested in the government to establish legislation to preserve order, protect the public health and safety, and promote the general welfare is known as the police power or more generally, as the government's reserved powers.
State governments utilize these powers to regulate matters that impact their citizens' daily lives. They regulate intrastate commerce, conduct elections, provide for public health and safety, establish local governments, maintain the militia, and ratify amendments to the Constitution.
At the national level, the U.S. Constitution empowers Congress to promote the general welfare through various activities such as taxation, regulation of commerce, and provision of services like Social Security and federal unemployment insurance.
This authority is essential for maintaining the rule of law, ensuring society's stability, and enabling the government to deliver crucial services and enact public laws that have broad societal impact. For instance, public laws such as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act directly affect U.S. society by altering the health care system.
States have their own authority to issue professional licenses and regulate education, exemplifying the breadth of their reserved powers. Therefore, whether at the state or federal level, the ability to promote general welfare is integral to the functioning of government.