ratbastid

Thanks for clearing it up, JEQuidam. Again, I think this is worthy of discussion, but given that you're using the same approach spammers use, it made my spidey-senses tingle.

I think that's very generous. I'll bet it's more like 1/8th who could.

I don't know that smaller elections would mean less turnout, though--I think an intensely local process might engage people in a way that a broader one might not.

I live in a small city of about a quarter million. That means 250k / 30k = 8 and change representatives just for my CITY. So basically, there'd be somebody from my neighborhood elected to represent me on the federal level. Pretty appealing idea, frankly.

My state's population (est) of 8.8 million would result in 293 representatives.

I can see why it couldn't have worked prior to the last say five years or so. There'd just be no way to manage a body that size. Robert's Rules just don't scale well into the thousands. But these days elected representatives can collaborate electronically. If it can be done securely and well in the corporate world (and it can!) there's no reason government couldn't use it.

I think I'm provisionally for this idea. That said, I can't say that I see it happening--it would require radical action on the part of people with vested interests in the status quo, and look how much change that system has produced in the last hundred years or so.

I think I can improve the idea by taking money out of the equation. US Representatives' salary is $165200, according to Wikipedia. So the salary budget for the HR is $71,862,000. Let's take that and divide it among the 6000 "new" reps: $11,977. About the same as, say, a part-time job. Which, let's be honest, it sort of is, especially if they're working from the couch on their laptops while watching daytime dramas.

Next, term limits. Let's say nobody can be re-elected more than twice, just to throw a number out there. So, three full 4-year terms, and keep them staggered for continuity's sake. 12 years ought to be PLENTY long enough for a citizen representative to participate in the process, especially if their salary ensures it's not a career position for them.

Thoughts?