The Constitution sets the maximum number of members of
Congress at “one for every thirty thousand.” Assuming a
population of 310,000,000 that sets a cap of about
10,333 members. There currently are 435 members of
Congress.
Current technology makes it possible to have a far
greater number of representatives than the present
situation. According to the Census there are about 230M
who are 18 years old or older. Of these, about 137M are
registered voters. Using 100,000 registered voters
instead of 30,000 persons, that would allow 1370 members
of Congress. This would be a much better representation
for the citizens than the average of about 315,000 per
member. Since the number of signatures to get on a ballot
is a percent of the number to be represented, a smaller
number will encourage more participation in government.
By more than tripling the number of members,
representation should be better and corrupting power is
diluted.
Members of the House have reacted - not by diluting their
power - but by expanding their staffs. More members with
smaller staffs would be more responsive to us (the voters).
My Congressman's (#1 in House at 97%) Answer:
In 1929, The 71st United States Congress passed the
Reapportionment Act to determine apportionment of Members
of Congress in the United States. This legislation capped
the number of Members in the House of Representatives to
435 and established a method of equal apportionment across
the states. This legislation also delegated to the states
the power to draw the Congressional Districts.
That sounds like "It's the way we have always done it, and
no one intends to change it!" After 82 years and 41
Congresses, it is time to address the idea!
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