Hi Mike,
On May 15, 2004, at 11:51 AM, MIKE OSSIPOFF wrote:
So that's 3 reasons why financial disincentive for proxies needn't be a problem: 1) Rich proxies; 2) Contributions required to be small, or (better yet) contributions whose sum is required to be below a specified amount that is just enough to live on, or just enough to fairly compensate the amount of work involved--including strictly scrutinized and reasonable operating costs; 3) Govt payment of proxies on a per-voter basis.
I dunno; perhaps I'm not clear on what problems proxies are supposed to solve. By making the decision-making process more fine-grained, I can see how it could generate more proportional representation among the decision makers, and avoid some the systematic bias of electioneering.
However, I think Kurt raised a valid point - one which I recall was a concern of the U.S. "Founding Fathers." Previously (if memory serves) Parliament was a ratifying body, merely approving or disapproving of the king's decrees. The challenge was how to turn that into a *legistlative* body for actually creating laws. That's why they took the somewhat risky step of two-year elections even for the House of Reps, rather than annual - to allow a more professionalized approach to legislature.
I personally think the issue is less about who gets to *vote* on ideas, than who gets to *define* the options voted on. That's something which requires time, expertise, staffing, and coalition building. Frankly, that's something that I think even our California legislature (as dysfunctional as it is!) tends to do better than the 'rule-by-voter initiative' direct democracy of our referendum (as necessary as it is!).
It sometimes seems to me like we on this list spend a lot of time worrying about how best to choose among various alternatives, but relatively little worrying about how those alternatives are articulated in the first place. Perhaps I'm wrong - does anyone else think that is important, and have concrete suggestions for how to improve it?
-- Ernie P.
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