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State governments are not aspects of the US government. The US government refers specifically to the federal government. It's called dual sovereignty or something to that effect. States governments are separate institutions with their own constitutions, and are for the most part independent (or at least were intended to be), although still subject to federal law.
The closest comparison would be like the parliaments of Scotland, Wales, England, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man. Technically their own countries ('states'), but subject to the agreements of the larger union (the federation or kingdom, depending on which nation).
Local councils in the UK have an equivalent in the US as well. States are generally divided into counties with their own governments, and most cities as well as some towns have their own metropolitan or municipal governments.
Granted, not even most americans, being ignorant, fully understand that there are multiple levels of government with different jurisdictions that they're subject to. That's why you see idiots fucking up state or local infrastructure when they're really mad at the federal government.
To quote wikipedia:
The idea that state governments, or county governments, aren't aspects of the US government is pretty absurd. They aren't part of the federal system, sure, but they are part of the government of the united states.
also gonna need a real big citation for this claim:
People might sometimes use it to mean that, but the words themselves refer to the government of the united states, of which state governments are a big part.
... Honestly, are you american? Because one or the other of us has an excellent point about national identities and their role in understanding the US government, and I'm leaning towards your interpretation right now.
"Within the country's federal system" means, yes, the state governments are federated under one government: the federal government, which is a separate institution.
"Alongside the federal government," i.e. "exercising functions... alongside the federal government." Meaning they are separate institutions that operate parallel to each other.
You have that backwards. Read your own wikipedia quote again. State governments are part of the federal system, but not part of the federal government (which is the government of the United States).
USG stands for "US Government" and is an official term often used in international relations and diplomacy to refer specifically to the federal government of the United States. The "United States" as an entity refers to the federation of states, each of which has its own state government. The terms and conditions of dual sovereignty are defined in the US Constitution, and each state government is chartered by its own constitution which defines how matters of state governance run.
Yes, I'm american, and I've worked for the federal government in the past. Federal and state governments are separate organizations. Very little coordination or communication happens between them, even trying to do so would be difficult and only happens rarely, except for highly specified cases where there are typically established liaison staff (such as distributing funding from federal departments to state counterparts, or state and federal personnel cooperating on disaster relief efforts). But for the most part, they don't even work in the same buildings.
Also, this should be the most telling sign, but federal and state taxes are handled completely separately. Two separate filings for two separate taxes to two separate governments. Because federal and state governments are separate institutions with different functions albeit with overlapping jurisdictions.
Maybe take a deep breath here:
First, I've never claimed the federal government and the state governments aren't distinct groups, hence the quote from wikipedia that expressly outlines that concept. So I'm just going to ignore everything you said in support of that, since... I agree.
Second, and please correct me if I'm wrong, it seems like you're honestly trying to make a case that state governments are not a part of the US government, based on a semantic argument that the specific term "the US government" refers exclusively to the US federal government. That seems... like you're going to need a whole lot more to support that position if that's the case. Again, I've never argued that they are a part of the federal government, just that they are a part of the governmental system of the united states and thereby the government of the US.
If this is indeed just about the specific language used instead of, say, the concepts in a discussion about people being unfamiliar with a topic thus getting the specifics wrong, then I do not care even slightly enough to keep arguing about this.