Submission JOHNSON-0266 (Online)

 

Fair Representation versus Effective Government

My fear with a more proportional system is that it tends to make government less effective. Our current system is already somewhat ineffective due to internal conflicts! To balance all of the needs of the people with what is the long term good is very difficult. While everyone having a better voice in government is a wonderful goal, not at the price of a workable government.

Governments are there to make the decisions we do not have the time or knowledge to take on or that conflict with our own self interest. Governments should work for the whole community (not a small group) and have a long term view. All government decisions hurt and help someone. A new bus route means someone has access to transit and someone else has their home devalued by a noisy bus idling outside at 6.00am in the morning. More services mean more taxes or more debt or cutting something else. At some level more taxes and debt drive away businesses (or make them less profitable) and people, thereby reducing income and therefore generating less taxes. Fewer services mean a less desirable place to live, more crime, illness, etc and less people to pay taxes. Tough choices.

Government is there to make the hard decisions that require research and discussion and then the ability to implement them. If a government can not make a decision or does not have the power to implement the decision, then it does no good! Look at Italy. They have a leader who bribed a judge on a bribery charge and then, once elected, passed a law to give himself immunity to the charges. Is this an effective government? Stripers, fringe parties and religions nuts get seats. While they are a part of the community, do they need to have a seat to be heard? Their vote is too small in government to change anything. Having them heard through the press as associations, though voting groups and other means seems to work now. Homosexuals, unions, greens, and other groups seem to be able to get laws enacted to protect their rights and represent their groups. The process is slow, but would it be faster or fairer in a government representing more extreme views. Would gays or natives or some other group really have more say with one of 75 or 250 seats?

We need an effective government more than a more representative government.

I suggest you take the other forms of government and look at scenarios. With this system who would have how many seats. If they had to decide on a budget, gay marriage, drunk driving laws, abortion, etc. Could they reach a decision?