PowerPoint Presentation
If you had lived in 1780, how many Citizens, on average, did
each Senator have in his Constitutency - - compared to present
times?Answer: in 1780, the average constituency was only about 1.6%
of what is is today. That is, Senators today, on average, each have
about 61 times as many Citizens to serve as in the Founders' years!
The ratio for the U.S. House of Reps, is smaller - - each Rep
having only to deal with about 15 times as many in present day!
Nevertheless that amounts to 736,000 Citizens for each
Representative.
So, should we be surprised that Citizens often feel very
isolated from their Federal Government? Clearly NOT!
The question is what can we do about this? Well . . that's the
subject of this article. What are your thoughts?Acknowledgement to
Adobe Public Sector Blog, for the diagram at left :
http://blogs.adobe.com/adobeingovernment/introducing-adobes-digital-government-survey/
AMERICA'S VANISHING GOVERNANCE PER INDIVIDUAL - - BY THE
NUMBERS
TOPICS OF THIS NOTESECTION #1 BRIEF BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEWSome
Numbers Regarding Our GovernanceSome Examples of Government
Misinformation AbuseSECTION #2 RATING OUR CURRENT GOVERNANCESome
Potential ImprovementsSECTION #3 Three Elements of A Solution to
Regain Citizen Control of Government A Lesson From Britain's
Tradition of "Prime Minister's Questions" (video clip)SECTION #4
RATIONALE FOR THE 3 PROPOSED SOLUTION ELEMENTSRationale DiscussionA
Concluding ThoughtA Concluding Video ClipReferences
AMERICA'S VANISHING GOVERNANCE-PER-INDIVIDUAL - - BY THE
NUMBERS
The 2 charts at right give a clue: Here are plotted for both the
U.S. Senate and House, the historical ratio of # of U.S. Citizens
to their Congressional Reps. Since the Senate has been at 2
Senators per State from the beginning, this ratio has grown by a
factor of 61. So each Senator today, must look after 61 times as
many Constituents as those when the Nation was entering the 1800's.
In the House, the ratio and its growth is smaller due to (i) the
smaller constituency of each Rep. and (ii) that the total number of
Reps grew somewhat over the 1800's. The ratio here is about 15.
Hmmm! No wonder it's getting to be tougher for Citizens and their
Federal Reps to truly communicate. No wonder, we see Lobbyists
increasingly molding our National affairs. So the true task is not
to add more Reps, but to significantly, rigorously and
CONSTITUTIONALLY augment Citizen interaction with THEIR GOVERNMENT
! That's the message of this note, which offers 3 elements of a
strong solution.
SECTION #1 - BRIEF BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
at least something is under control. BUT . . there are some
adverse consequences too. The chart above shows U.S. population in
20 year increments from 1780 to present. Lots of good growth and
that's helped push America into the top rung of global success. So
why are we seeing, particularly in the last decade, such a disaster
in our Federal governance?In the 220+ Years since our 1789
Constitution, the population of America has expanded considerably.
But the numbers of our Congressional Reps have stayed relatively
fixed. My first thoughts, as a Conservative, were: "Well,
President Obama in his Jan 12, 2016 State of the Union, claimed
that if only the federal government would spend more taxpayer money
(gleaned from higher taxes on fossil fuels), the government can put
tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century
transportation system. But there are several implications here for
the Citizens to weigh in on: (1) our total National budget is
already seriously overspent (2) our taxes are already too high and
are damaging economic health and jobs (3) building infrastructure
is a very broad term, when most Citizens would likely agree that
our interstate highway systems are specifically and seriously in
need of repair and significant overcrowding. Americans rely on our
Nations roads and bridges every day, yet Congressional inaction has
led to longer commutes, more potholes and unsafe conditions, said
Marshall Doney, American Automobile Assocn. President and CEO.
Motorists are dissatisfied that our national leaders repeatedly
have failed to meet the basic needs of drivers across the
country.The federal gas taxes that were originally intended to
maintain the Interstate Highway System a true national priority are
diverted to various special interests by Congress and federal
bureaucrats. Over a quarter of gas taxes are siphoned to projects
that are not proper federal priorities, such as local transit and
bike-share programs, while a mere six percent goes to the actual
construction of major projects. But, in contrast, Citizens believe
America should focus scarce resources on enhancing mobility and
relieving congestion so that American workers, businesses, and
travelers all over the country can get where they need to go.
The President & Congress Favor Themselves vs. The People's
Constitution - - EXAMPLE A: SPENDING & TAXATION CHOICESSECTION
#1 - BRIEF BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW
In a misleading way, the President is right in his 2016 State of
the Union when he says last year was the warmest year on record,
but that data point doesnt necessarily translate into increased
"global warming". In making this claim, Obama was referring to a
2015 study released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency
(NOAA). But there are serious questions about the data driving that
study and the conclusions drawn from it by politicians.Some of the
weather stations that collect those measures are located in
industrial areas, surrounded by buildings, parking lots, and other
structures that retain heat and skew the data.For instance, the
official weather station in Washington, D.C., is located at Reagan
National Airport. As Patrick J. Michaels of the Cato
Instituteexplains, that station produces an inaccurate weather
report because it measures increased heat produced by several
hundred feet lower in elevation the brick buildings [nearby], and
the pavement of urban Washington.Geography could also play a
significant role in some NOAAs dramatic numbers. The weather
stations that provide the data for the report are not spread
out.These stations are not distributed in a regular, comprehensive
geological pattern notes David Kreutzer, a senior fellow in energy
economics at The Heritage Foundation. As a result, he concludes
that the data doesnt prove a climate crisis is evident. This is
further amplified by the error analysis of multiple NOAA/NASA data
sets shown at right. Do Citizens really want major long-term
decisions taken on a political whim, further undercut by skilled
data analysis??
From: "2014: The Most Dishonest year on Record",
Anthony Watts, Jan 20 2016.
SECTION #1 - BRIEF BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW The President &
Congress Favor Themselves vs. The People's Constitution - - EXAMPLE
B: DISHONESTY REGARDING GOVERNMENTAL CHOICES
Wind power isnt just cheaper than fossil fuels, as the president
asserted. Often, as in Texas last March, wind-generated electricity
is sold for negative prices. Slate.com reportsthat companies
actually were paying Texas public utilities to take their excess
electricity. Among several other factors artificially driving the
price down was a generous Federal production tax credit that pays
producers2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour.Nick Loris, an economist who
is the Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow at The Heritage Foundation,
explains that subsidies and regulationlike the Texas wind
creditinfluence and skew significant portions of the energy
market.And although, as the president says, the solar industry does
employ more Americans than coal, Loris says, thats because of an
unfair playing field. Heavy-handed regulations,"he says, " are
driving out coal as an important, reliable energy source and
destroying jobs in the process. Meanwhile, solar benefits from
generous taxpayer-funded subsidies. Loris declares also that
increased oil drilling, not solar production, does more to push
down electricity prices. The Energy Information Administration
reported that in 2015thatwholesale electricity prices at major
trading hubs were down 27 percent [to]37 percent across the nation
and that the price drop was driven largely by lower natural gas
rices.
From President Obama's State of the Union Address:In fields from
Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional
power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving
Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills,
and employs more Americans than coalin jobs that pay better than
average.
SECTION #1 - BRIEF BACKGROUND AND OVERVIEW The President &
Congress Favor Themselves vs. The People's Constitution - - EXAMPLE
B: DISHONESTY REGARDING GOVERNMENTAL CHOICES
So, what insights and lessons do the preceding 2 examples bring
forth? Here are 3 that seem both appropriate and, when broadly
stated, can be understood as relating also to many other examples
of misdirected governance that could be cited:The President
announces National priorities and increased expenditures (or
diverting funds previously used on other priorities) that are far
from universally accepted by many Citizens. But was there a
National debate on such priorities? Was the Congress involved in
such a public debate? No, the Citizens' voice was ignored,
disregarded or elbowed out of the way by other entrenched
interests. Is this the American way? Special taxes, previously
approved specifically for one purpose were simply shifted over to
another purpose. Did the Citizens have a structured chance to
object or offer alternatives? No. Is this the American way? In the
case of jobs through infrastructure and wind or solar priority for
the sake of Global Warming, the government embarks on increasing
the legacy of debt to the children of every Citizen. Does every
Citizen share this sense of moral behavior? Not very likely. Is
this the American way?A GRADE FOR OUR GOVERNANCE? HOW ABOUT A C-
?NO! The above is NOT THE AMERICAN WAY, which blessedly produces a
government OF, BY, & FOR the People.
A few thoughts regarding Citizen opposition tactics against this
Govermental over-reach and intrusiveness:Expand the Citizen's
Pathways for interaction with the Federal GovernmentExpand formal
Public Debate between the President and Congress on all the major
governance issues.Enable a Citizen's Initiative Process, which for
a given number of duly signed Citizen mandates gives the Citizen
the right to create National Law, which if deemed Constitutional by
SCOTUS, becomes Federal Law.
SECTION #2 - A RATING FOR OUR CURRENT GOVERNANCE
SECTION #2 - SOUND ADVICE FROM AN AMERICAN FOUNDER
America has grown so much in population since our Founding, that
true interaction between Citizens and their Elected Federal
Representatives and the President has become so complex as to be
almost non-functional. But we live in a digital age that now offers
real time interaction by large numbers of interested Citizens. So
here are a few proposals that could help make our Democratic
Republic more interactive to the Citizens' voices and ideas. Both
will contribute to an America that can recapture the governance
created and formulated by our Founders, who bequeathed us
Constitutional safeguards of Citizen Rights plus mechanisms to
oversee and adapt our governance as the Citizens deem appropriate.
So based on this reasoning, the following 3 Solution elements are
expanded upon in the next several charts.
SECTION #3 - Three Elements of A Solution to Regain Citizen
Control of Government THE ISSUETHE PROPOSED SOLUTION (More details
in the next few charts)A STRUCTURED AVENUE FOR CITIZEN INTERACTION
WITH THEIR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES1. A CITIZEN'S OVERSIGHT PANEL
(C.O.P.) ACTING AS A FORMAL INTERFACE BETWEEN CITIZENS AND THE
FEDERAL GOVT.LACK OF ADEQUATE PUBLIC DEBATE2. REGULAR, FORMAL,
PUBLIC DEBATE BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND THE CONGRESS - - MODELED
AFTER BRITAIN'S "PRIME MINISTER'S QUESTIONS" (PMQ) PRACTICE.CITIZEN
CONSTRUCTION OF LAW3. A FORMAL INITIATIVE PROCESS, IN WHICH
CITIZEN-PROPOSED LAWS ARE ENACTED IF ADEQUATE VOTES ARE CAST.
A LESSON FROM BRITAIN'S TRADITION OF "PRIME MINISTER'S
QUESTIONS" (PMQ)A few brief comments on the following short video
clip:This is a short, edited clip from the Weekly televised
Political Discussion between British Prime Minister, David Cameron
and Members of Parliament who take turns, within specified
durations, addressing questions to him. Jeremy Bernard Corbyn,
shown in this particular clip, is a British politician who is the
Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. He has
been the Member of Parliament for Islington North since 1983 and
was elected Labour Leader in 2015. As will be seen, the discussion
can sometimes get a little heated and snide - - but is almost
always enlightening to the British Citizenry, many of whom will be
viewing the live interchange from their homes or local public
gathering places.This particular PMQ exchange, initiated by Mr.
Corbyn, related to some issues regarding the NHS (National Health
Service). The "Mr. Speaker", at the podium, in this setting acts as
the discussion Chairman. A benefit of this type of direct, public
debate, is the tendency for more quantitative facts to emerge. A
situation, that is particularly helpful to a thoughtful,
responsible voting public. [Needless to say, the NHS topic was
selected to help illustrate the benefit to timely Citizen
assessment of differing political views - - there is no advocacy
here for or against the NHS itself.]As this little clip
illustrates, both the British "Legislature" and the "Chief
Executive" have opportunity to express their views and debate their
positions on virtually any issue. In contrast, the American
Congress and Presidency, are mostly discussing their differing
views in totally separate press conferences or media interviews.
But neither of these conveys to our Citizens the data, commitment
or sincerity that is achieved in the PMQ setting. Also, although
the British format is fine, some format changes may be appropriate
in the U.S. Nevertheless, our model should retain the idea of
direct debate between gov't Branch Leaders and the Legislature.
Details of such modifications are left for future
discussion.SECTION #3 - Three Elements of A Solution to Regain
Citizen Control of Government
Click arrow below to PLAY video
PROCEED TO NEXT CHART; CLICK ON ARROW TO START VIDEO
So how can Citizens voice their concerns in a way that
government policy be made more in accord with their concerns, which
presently are barely even discernible in public deliberations? Here
are the 3 solution thoughts:Job creation historically has been most
successful under the responsibilty of the private sector, which is
financially stimulated by production of goods and services in a
variety of competitive approaches, from which Citizens can select
the most appealing. The governments record in this regard is worse
that abysmal. America needs to support structured public debate of
all major issues, (similar to PMQ) , including the important item
of budgeting. Such debate will better inform Citizens and also
enable public certainty that Congress has heard their complants and
requests.Citizens need a structural mechanism in government that
ensures that if a reasonable number of Citizens complain, that
formal action to ensure that both the Congress and the President
must respond with adequate debate, followed by corrective
legislation that has adequate compromise to assure Constitutional
passage, implementation and enforcement. This Citizen Oversight
Panel (C.O.P.) mechanism is currently not available.Both Executive
and Legislative branches of our government frequently use subtle
and misleading terminologies in describing their Legislative and
Regulatory proposals. Public debate (as per items 1., 2. above), is
surely one good approach to enable better public understanding of,
and influence upon, governmental actions. But Citizens also deserve
the opportunity to formulate their own versions of Laws and
Regulations - - and, with prescribed #s of Citizen signatures,
these versions (INITIATIVES) would be directly voted into
existence.
SECTION #4 - THE 3 PROPOSED SOLUTION ELEMENTS TO REGAIN CITIZEN
CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
THESE 3 SOLUTION THOUGHTS ARE GIVEN MORE EXPLICIT DEFINITION IN
THE 3 NEXT TABLE ROWS
SOLN#1..A CITIZENS-POPULATED OVERSIGHT PANEL (C.O.P.)Congress
shall create a multi-tasked Citizen-populated, Oversight Panel
(C.O.P.) comprised of 50 duly-registered, salaried Citizens. the
Panel, with support staff, shall act as the Citizens direct envoy
to the Federal govt with authority to act as the Citizens ombudsman
in direct interaction with the 3 Federal branches. the C.O.P. shall
respond to any Citizen request for action signed by 5000 duly
voter-registered U.S. Citizens.SOLN#2STRUCTURED PUBLIC DEBATE - -
THE CITIZENS GOVERNMENTAL QUESTION SESSION (CGQS) As advocated
earlier, America should take a lesson from the British custom of
Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ). Ours would be structured a little
differently, since our governmental structures are not identical.
Here are a few proposed CGQS groundrules: This structure should
carry the strength of a Constitutional Amendment. Each agenda
should include 9 topics, 2 each as submitted by the President, The
Senate and the House of Reps - - PLUS 3 submitted by Citizens and
selected from those submitted by the Speaker of the House; CGQS
should be: a monthly, 180 minute event; should be broadcast live by
C-Span and 3 commercial networks and include the President and each
Senate and House formal Committee Chairmen with both the President
and each Chairman entitled to invite 3 colleagues from their own
governmental branch. Each of the 6 topics shall be allotted 30
minutes divided into: a 5 minute opening statement, a 15 minute
Legislative-Executive exchange of 3 minute views, and a 10 minute
discussion of three live, 2-minute call in questions by Citizens,
with each Citizen question allocated 7 minutes for Governmental
responders. To administer the rules of the Question session, a
Panel of 3 Elected officials (selected for 2 year terms by the
President, the House Leader and the Senate Majority Leader), shall
be established to coordinate selection of the other Session
attendees, the Citizen questions, TV coverage and other
administrative details. The defined purpose of the CGQS shall be to
enhance Citizen-government interactive, public discussion of the
major National current issues - - with the objective of rotating
participation of as many varied Congress, Presidential Cabinet
Officers, and Citizens as may be practical.
SECTION #4 - THE 3 PROPOSED SOLUTION ELEMENTS TO REGAIN CITIZEN
CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
SOLN#3THE FEDERAL INITIATIVE PROCESS
The Constitution shall be Amended to structure a Federal
Government Citizen's Initiative Process. The process shall be
structured to permit a Citizen-written and Citizen approved law or
Regulation, which must meet the same content demands as all
Congressionally-established Legislation or all Executive
Branch-established Regulation. No law shall become valid unless
meeting the following x-step requirements: (i) The formally
proposed Initiative shall not exceed 750 words, (ii) It is
initiated with the validated signatures of 10,000 duly registered
voters from any of the existing States, (ii) Each state Governor
shall then be responsible for assuring that the subsequent
Initiative circulation and signing process shall adhere to their
respective State law governing it's initiative process, (iii) The
tallied results from each state shall be submitted to the Speaker
of the House of Representatives for the next step: assure an
accurate tally of supporting votes that meets or exceeds the number
of winning votes received by the average number of the 4 preceding
Presidential elections. If the tally meets the previously stated
requirement of the average of 4 prior Presidential election
approvals, the next step shall be submittal of the tallied, signed
votes to the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court for a decision
regarding the Constitutionality of the proposed law. If
Constitutionality is voted by a majority of the Justices, the
Initiative bill shall become Nationwide federal Law, as any other
Congressionally-approved legislation. Neither approval of the
President nor of the Congress shall be required for a
Citizen-initiated Bill that successfully fulfills the above
requirements. The purpose of this Citizens' process shall be to
enhance the Citizen's ability to implement important yet popular
Legislation and Regulations, yet retain an element of the "balance
of powers" (as is achieved in Congressional Legislation with
Presidential Approval). However, since this Initiative process
result is achieved by a direct vote of the Citizens, it is intended
not to require Congressional or Presidential approval.
SECTION #4 - THE 3 PROPOSED SOLUTION ELEMENTS TO REGAIN CITIZEN
CONTROL OF GOVERNMENT
And now, a short Patriotic musical video :
Anthem for the Millennium
(America, My Home!)
Credit for this youtube video is gratefully acknowledged
to:Copyright 1999 George K. Simon, Jr.
Music by George Simon (ASCAP)Words by George and Sherry
SimonArrangement by Jonathan Joyner, Tom Carruth, and George
SimonPerformed by Ricky David Tripp
A CONCLUDING THOUGHT
A CONCLUDING VIDEO PROCEED TO NEXT CHART; CLICK ON ARROW TO
START VIDEO
1Progressives "What Obama Got Wrong in the State of the
Union",Rob Kuhlman, January 12, 2016, Heritage Foundation Experts
Analyze Obama's Last Address to Congress, 2"Fact-Checking Obamas
Final State of theUnion", Melissa Quinn, Josh Siegel, Philip
Wegmann, January 12, 20163"Expand the House of Representatives",
Larry Sabato, Democracyjournal.org4"Prime Minister's Questions_ 16
December 2015", youtube,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEjHuarHgCI 5"America My Home -
Anthem for the new Millennium ", George Simon , 5-26-2011.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N85l7Yc6OtQ
I'M GREATLY PLEASED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE FOLLOWING REFERENCES USED
HEREIN TO SUPPORT HISTORICAL ACCURACY AND THOUGHTS.Cht 9
REFERENCES
THE END
ACTUALLY, ITS NOT THE END - - YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT TO OUR
NATION. CITIZEN INTEREST, DIALOG AND DATA ARE CRITICAL TO GOOD
CIVIC OUTCOMES. AND THAT INCLUDES OUTCOMES WHICH SIMPLY ASSURE
PROPER CONDITIONS FOR THE FREE MARKET TO WORK. AMERICA IS BECOMING
FAR TOO GOV'T-CENTRIC. CITIZENS MUST UNITE TO DEMAND A MORE
STRUCTURED INTERFACE WITH, AND A VOICE WITHIN THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT
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