Why can't the people decide everything

[sorefeet]

Why can't a ballot be sent for every issue and let everyone decide.
reschedule marijuana 51% for = DONE
ban assault weapons 51% for=DONE
universal healthcare 51% DONE
end citizen united 51% = DONE
and every other issue that pops up. Do we really need people who are bribed by corporations to decide what is best for us. Why does everything have to drag out for years and years. My life is about over and America is still fucked up.
Why can't there be either computer or mail in ballots for every issue. Shrink government by getting rid of the people that are not needed by the people in this day and age. With all of them and their aides gone I'm sure it would shrink the dept considerably. They are the true deadbeat parasites of this country. It seems our way of doing business in America is out dated.

[el_bryanto]

1. Hmmmmmm.

I can see some problems with this solution. For example, what if 51% of the American people want to punish minorities?

Bryant

[Duer 157099]

2. Google "tyranny of the majority"

That said, I understand the frustration.

[cthulu2016]

3. Because half the people on DU would be in prison within a month

Government by plebiscite is merely the tyranny of popular ignorance and popular reaction.

And the list of things the American public is 51% on is frightening.

[oldhippie]

4. Because you will have a problem when ....

.... you get to the votes to pay for that stuff.

"Minorities have to pay all the taxes", 51% (the majority) agrees, DONE!

And you would probably be surprised at what 51% won't vote for when it comes to actually voting rather than telling a pollster or pontificating.

[SoCalDem]

5. Civil Rights would never have passed, for one thing

True majority rule is a good thing when it comes to electing a president (popular vote v EC)


but representative democracy works best for the rest..

(with a few caveats)

I would prefer:

no lifetime appointments for SCOTUS

term limits in house/senate..two 4s in house & two 6s senate
no pension unless there's 20 consecutive years

No lobbying/board of directors/think tank jobs for FIVE years after elected office..finish your service and GO BACK HOME

[sorefeet]

11. So how do you make that happen

The people who have the country fucked up make the rules. The people just get what they think is best, which is usually wrong. If they cared about us we would have had medicare for all many years ago and insurance companies would be almost obsolete.

[SoCalDem]

12. That is always the dilemma

The people who win, never want to change things and when they lose, they are no longer able to change things..

Pressure and perhaps a major collapse might change things..Probably not in my lifetime, but maybe someday,,

[unblock]

6. then the only person who decides anything is the person who words the ballot.

well, assuming the counting is fair and accurate.

[RevStPatrick]

7. And this is exactly why...

...the founders developed the system they developed.
EXACTLY so this kind of thing wouldn't happen.
Yes, the current system is highly flawed, but what you propose would be MUCH worse.

[jmg257]

8. As Madison observed...

"Wherever the real power in a government lies, there is the danger of oppression. In our
Governments the real power lies in the majority of the Community, and the invasion of private rights is chiefly to be apprehended, not from acts of Government contrary to the sense of its constituents,
but from acts in which the Government is the mere instrument of the major number of the Constituents."

[frazzled]

9. Because "everything" is not a simple yes/no question

And it's not comprised simply of the five broad issues you list here.

The government of a vast nation requires more than opinion polls (though elected representatives normally take into account the opinions of their constituents). There are skazillions of arcane things a government needs to do, requiring legislation that is sometimes demands hundreds of pages to spell out the legal fine points or work out the logistics of implementation.

Do you think the American people are, say, able to pass judgment on complex regulation of derivatives with a simple yes or no vote? I'm sure not. And when I think that a huge percentage of Americans still believe Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks, I shudder to think of some of the shit that would be decided in this way.

The Founders specifically decided on a representative form of democracy, not a direct one. I'm glad they did, even as screwed up as it currently is.

[bemildred]

10. Because self-important asshats are so much better at it than the public could ever be.

The Congress is much better at guarding our liberties than we are.