[455] in libertarians
term limits
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Travis Corcoran)
Tue Dec 6 11:03:24 1994
Date: Tue, 6 Dec 94 10:56:38 EST
From: tjic@ICD.teradyne.com (Travis Corcoran)
To: libertarians@MIT.EDU
On a topic slightly tangent to the original term limits thread:
Has anyone considered a more radical overhaul of the system of
choosing representatives to the Fed government?
A few ideas:
1) proportional representation: if the Republicans receive 45% of the
vote, the Dems get 45%, the Libs get 8%, and the Greens get 2%, then
the represenative body is made up of 45% Reps, 45% Dems, etc. This
system is used in many of the democracies of Western Europe. It
hasn't led to a libertarian Utopia, but it is still an interesting
system...
2) voting groups based on factors other than geography: right now all
citizens of Massachussets get to choose 2 senators, and citizens of
Boston get to choose a Rep, etc. Why not group people by their
(self-proclaimed) proffessions: students nationwide get to elect 2
senators and 3 Reps, engineers nationwide get to elect 2 senators and
2 reps, factory workers get 2 senators and 4 reps, teachers get 2
senators and 1 rep, etc. In 1789 the concerns of a given individual
were often most similar to those of his geographical neighbors. In
1994 it seems that the concerns of a given individual are often most
similar to those of his fellow-proffessionals.
Comments?
TJIC
