In today's tech world we no longer need representatives. It worked back in the day but is now so demented and crooked we need to do away with the reps and go with live votes. We need to get rid of Washington all together, return power to local and state gov.
If you think things are bad now, add pure democracy to the mix and marvel at the wreck this nation would become.
The big problem with the House is that there are too few Reps relative to the US population. They capped the House at 435 in the 1920s. The population has gone up by a factor of 3 since then. They keep the House roll call relatively low since it is a lot easier to buy off 220 people than 660 (or more). It also makes it a LOT easier for them to maintain a two party stranglehold.
The other problem with the House is that they made it into a career for scumbags with the extravagant benefits packages.
Change both of those things, especially the number of Reps, and the House will be more in line with what the Founding Father's envisioned. The House was supposed to be chaotic ... Instead, they made it more of a country club like the Senate.
It's definitely too cushy of a job. While they're serving, they should adopt the restrictions of the armed forces, which means: uniforms, barracks/dormitories, cafeterias with basic nutrition, and a demerit system. And if they serve honorably, then they can have their retirement benefits. Also they will not be addressed by name while Congress is in session. They will be addressed by their state and district number (or in the case of Senators, the name of their state followed by Junior or Senior, and NEVER followed by and R or a D) , which will also be displayed proximately on their uniform, along with pips or different colors signifying how many terms they have been serving. OR even better: for every term they serve, strap a 10 pound ankle weight on their legs.
There should also be restrictions on media, social media and communications. They need to understand that they are not celebrities and they are not soundbite fabricators. The only people they should really be talking to are their families and their constituents.
How does legislation get proposed? Couldn't the representative system, as flawed as it may be, still be used to craft the legislation that voters then get a chance to veto?
Except our population is getting dumber by the minute. You get one emotionally charged story that goes over with a majority of the American people, they vote emotionally on some thing and we are screwed. You think media manipulation is bad now, wait until you see what happens if we have elements of a direct democracy.
In today's tech world we no longer need representatives. It worked back in the day but is now so demented and crooked we need to do away with the reps and go with live votes. We need to get rid of Washington all together, return power to local and state gov.
If you think things are bad now, add pure democracy to the mix and marvel at the wreck this nation would become.
The big problem with the House is that there are too few Reps relative to the US population. They capped the House at 435 in the 1920s. The population has gone up by a factor of 3 since then. They keep the House roll call relatively low since it is a lot easier to buy off 220 people than 660 (or more). It also makes it a LOT easier for them to maintain a two party stranglehold.
The other problem with the House is that they made it into a career for scumbags with the extravagant benefits packages.
Change both of those things, especially the number of Reps, and the House will be more in line with what the Founding Father's envisioned. The House was supposed to be chaotic ... Instead, they made it more of a country club like the Senate.
It's definitely too cushy of a job. While they're serving, they should adopt the restrictions of the armed forces, which means: uniforms, barracks/dormitories, cafeterias with basic nutrition, and a demerit system. And if they serve honorably, then they can have their retirement benefits. Also they will not be addressed by name while Congress is in session. They will be addressed by their state and district number (or in the case of Senators, the name of their state followed by Junior or Senior, and NEVER followed by and R or a D) , which will also be displayed proximately on their uniform, along with pips or different colors signifying how many terms they have been serving. OR even better: for every term they serve, strap a 10 pound ankle weight on their legs.
There should also be restrictions on media, social media and communications. They need to understand that they are not celebrities and they are not soundbite fabricators. The only people they should really be talking to are their families and their constituents.
Agree with this as well!
How does legislation get proposed? Couldn't the representative system, as flawed as it may be, still be used to craft the legislation that voters then get a chance to veto?
Agree!
Except our population is getting dumber by the minute. You get one emotionally charged story that goes over with a majority of the American people, they vote emotionally on some thing and we are screwed. You think media manipulation is bad now, wait until you see what happens if we have elements of a direct democracy.