Historically, the problem seems to have developed

Historically, the problem seems to have developed in earnest after 1913 with ratification of Amendments 16 and 17. Amendment 17 was the death knell of federalism as it was originally crafted -- with an effective system of checks and balances within the central government itself and, crucially, between the states and the central government. The states' check on the central government was arguably demolished by Amendment 17.