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Monthly Archives: October 2010
What might be intermediate steps towards realizing a Citizen Legislature?
Advisory bodies of randomly chosen citizens already are becoming commonplace. The more these examples demonstrate the wisdom of ‘the people’, the sooner such bodies can graduate from advisers to policy makers. See, among others, The Center for Deliberative Democracy, The … Continue reading
What might be some long-term effects of a Citizen Legislature?
Over time more and more individuals in more and more segments of the population will have had the experience of attending to legislative business.The likely effect of those many and evenly disbursed experiences would be a greater capacity for localities … Continue reading
How can visionary leadership find a place in a Citizen Legislature?
Like every other measure, visionary leadership would be as prevalent in a proportionally representative legislature as it is in the general population. Some may criticize this fact by saying that this is exactly why we force candidates to engage in … Continue reading
Posted in FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Tagged campaign, competition, electoral combat, leadership, vision
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How does the median U.S. household net worth compare to that of Congress?
The median net worth of Senators is $1.06 million. Representatives about $366,000. The median net worth of U.S. households about $120,000. N.B. ‘Median’ means ‘in the middle’.It is different than ‘average’. The average is the total divided by the number … Continue reading
Posted in FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Tagged median net worth, networth comparison
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The base annual salary for Senators and Representatives in 2010 is $174,000. In addition there are retirement and health benefits, expense allowances, franking privilege, personal staff allowance and other perquisites. The 2010 median household income in the United States is … Continue reading
Why not have all citizens vote for or against legislation? Online for instance?
Even if everyone had internet access or some other way to register their opinion, there are several problems with everyone voting on everything. Most people do not have time or interest to properly deliberate about complex social issues. Plebiscites, referenda … Continue reading
Posted in FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
Tagged demagoguery, Plebescitism, populism, referendum
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Would it take a constitutional amendment to change the selection process of Congress from balloting to sortition?
The First Article, Section Four, of the US Constitution says: The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof That seems clear a state can choose whatever … Continue reading
What are some reasons against sortitional selection of decision-making bodies?
These issues have been raised: Fear of incompetence Loss of institutional memory Tyranny of the majority Lack of accountability The seeming end of constituencies Potential for corruption No coherent programs or platforms Our responses to these are as follows: Agreed, … Continue reading
What drives you to advocate for this? What personal interests in it do you have?
There are three separate but related impulses that drive me to push for a Citizen Legislature. First is simply to engender more thought about what a ‘representative democracy’ is supposed to be. I thought it meant that the government was … Continue reading
What is the first major obstacle to realizing sortitionally-chosen proportional representation?
Remembering what Mohandas Gandhi said: “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”Those who have most to lose from an equitable and legitimate decision-making process will not want to consider fundamental change. … Continue reading
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