Would this change to our Government make any sense

[ThomWV]

I'm trying to think of reforms of our Government system that might make it more responsive to people's needs and the public's assent to do big things and pay for them.

It occurred to me that if the job of the Congress was not to pass legislation but to produce draft legislation and to argue in its support but the final say be by public referendum. Each bit of legislation would have to be accompanied by a financing plan, whatever it might be. In some cases the legislation suggested might be funded by new taxes, in some cases by cuts to existing programs, in some cases a combination and so on. In no event could legislation pass that had not got a majority vote (and probably some minimum number of votes) by public referendum.

Somehow procedural matters would still have to be addressed, and the small and trivial crap Congress wastes so much time on (naming post offices, meaningless resolutions, and crap like that) but on the big matters, things like Health Care, the public should be able to decide what they want and how they want to pay for it.

[hack89]

1. How would have any Civil Rights legislation been enacted in such a system? nt

[Proud Public Servant]

2. Bingo

I remember reading somewhere that pollsters in a poll the 1950s folded paraphrases of the Bill of Rights into the poll and asked respondents whether they agreed or disagreed with the ideas expressed. If put to a vote in the Eisenhower era, apparently, the Bill of Rights would have gone down in flames.

[ItNerd4life]

3. Most wouldn't work. There are changes that would help

1) Website where people can actually see budgets, government efficiency% by major operational unit (welfare, military, SS, etc)
2) Change voting to weekends (workdays suck for trying to vote for many people)
3) Some of your ideas have merit: How legislation will be funded, summary document of the legislation available on the internet for at least 2 weeks so people can respond before it's voted on, etc.
4) Truth in Budgeting. Budget 'Cuts' are actually cuts to the actual expenditures, not 'Cuts' to the budget. If Budget is to go up 10% and they change it to 6% they call it a budget cut. It's not, it's a 6% increase!

I like your thinking on ways to improve things.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Not a good way to run a government. Too dependent on majority rule and time consuming as well.