Aside from the federal/state/local split, which has already been mentioned, the Constitution split Executive/Legislative/Judicial branches out at the federal level. We may have weakened the intent of those checks and balances in our current environment, but they certainly were designed into the system.
So yes, to answer your question - I would definitely would apply the same logic to government.
So yes, to answer your question - I would definitely would apply the same logic to government.