Power to the People

There was a time when it was impractical for all of the citizens in a nation to have a say in their government's decisions. So a system was set up whereby a large number of people would select a single person to represent their interests. In this way, the opinions of many people could be expressed by one person who would make policy decisions on their behalf.

The founders of the American government took this approach. Rather than trying to fit billions of people into the halls of Congress, 535 people are there to represent the interests of everyone else. For example, the people in each state vote for two Senators who are given the power to vote on bills on behalf of those voters. Each Senator is hired to represent the interests of their state.

Well I think everybody knows that the system doesn't work that way in practice, because the "representatives" don't really care about the people who voted for them. They're completely focused on their own interests. They will do whatever it takes to further their career, which usually means helping people with power rather than working for all of those powerless voters. Sometimes they do find it profitable to vote as the people they represent would, but usually that doesn't happen.

But now the basic assumption behind the system is no longer true. Although we still can't fit billions of people into the Capital Building, all of those people can represent themselves now. Technology has made it possible for every American citizen to vote on congressional bills. It is not extremely difficult to set up a secure system that would enable any American to read a bill, watch the members of congress debate the bill, and then personally cast a vote for or against that bill. Representatives would gradually become obsolete.

Of course, there are still many details that will need to be worked out, but I have faith in the basic principle. And as President, I would begin to implement this system. I would make it possible for every citizen to vote on whether I should sign or veto each bill. I can't promise to always go with the majority decision, as there may be times when I am privy to information that is not available to the public. But I will certainly promise to let the citizens' decisions have a great amount of influence over my decisions.