10-15-2019, 02:03 PM
On this exchange between Hollo and Dill, I just want to put in my two cents without quoting the text blocks. When a bicameral legislature is involved, it makes absolute sense, IMO, to have one based on proportional representation and one based on equal. It is that compromise that is a bedrock of the system we have here in the US. The issue comes into play when the House of Representatives isn't really great at proportional representation.
California 53 congressional districts have, on average, 746k people. Wyoming's only Representative represents 578k and Montana's represents 1.062 million. This disparity is what lessens the democratic effectiveness of our system, especially when applied to the Electoral College system for POTUS. when you look at this and how much disparity there are between the states it is easy to see how someone not used to the system we have here can view it as puzzling. Why should a state that holds less than a congressional district's worth of people from another state have the same say in a legislative body as that larger state? Well, it's because that should (key word: should) be balanced by that proportional representation.
California 53 congressional districts have, on average, 746k people. Wyoming's only Representative represents 578k and Montana's represents 1.062 million. This disparity is what lessens the democratic effectiveness of our system, especially when applied to the Electoral College system for POTUS. when you look at this and how much disparity there are between the states it is easy to see how someone not used to the system we have here can view it as puzzling. Why should a state that holds less than a congressional district's worth of people from another state have the same say in a legislative body as that larger state? Well, it's because that should (key word: should) be balanced by that proportional representation.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
