I hate to see what state redistricting battles would look like, but I agree with the people who believe we should occasionally consider state realignment. I would hope we have a serious debate on the rules and logics BEFORE we take out the meat cleaver, but there are some serious inequities. Almost every one of the "big" population states has divergent views, but there is also a real question why the people of Wyoming have the same number of senators as the people of California.
Originally Posted by Old-T
Actually, there isn't a real question about why big and small states have the same number of Senators.
That is because the Senate does not represent the people - the House does that and is appropriately weighted by population.
The Senate represents the states and each of the states is an equal political entity - hence an equal number of Senators.
And there is no real inequity or unfairness in that system. We all live under it and we know the rules. If a person in California somehow feels shafted because Wyoming has the same number of Senators, then that person can quickly correct that situation by moving to Wyoming. Problem solved!
But then that person might not like the fact that California has fifty times as many representatives as Wyoming. So he may never be happy.
The bicameral Congress is set up that way to balance the interests of the states vs. majorities of the people. They say that pure democracy is a system under which 51% of the people vote to piss in the corn flakes of the other 49%. Truer words were never spoken. That's why republics put restraints on the powers of the majority. And the primary restraint on majorities is the US Senate.
Without a Senate, the Representatives of about 10 states could vote to piss in the corn flakes of the other 40 states. The Big 10 could vote to use neighboring states as their garbage landfills. So New York's trash would get dumped in New Jersey and Vermont. California would dump its trash in Nevada, and so forth.
Water rights? Well, the water belongs to the Big 10, of course. Why do you ask?
Coal plants? Well, they're built in the lower 40 and the electricity gets sent to the Big 10. The same goes for any type of chemical plant or nuclear plant.
See how easy this is without a Senate? No need for any of that messy negotiation between the House and Senate.
And just think how much easier it will be for lobbyists to push through legislation that favors their clients! You can focus all of your money and attention on the 51% of Representatives of the Big 10 and ignore the other 49% of Representatives.
NO THANKS. I think I will pass on reform.