Is the United States Too Big to Govern?

[Swordsmyth]

Your beloved CONstitution spells out how the government is *supposed* to grow in accordance with population size in Article I, Section 2. Big government document is big government.

The Constitution is far from perfect but having more representatives for more people is hardly what is usually meant by "big government", government is "big" when it controls more things or has more power.

If you have been paying attention you would know that I support a system where each representative may hold multiple "seats" based on his share of the vote, this would have given Dr. Ron many votes and would reduce the number of representatives while keeping the minimum threshold size of a constituency small enough to hold representatives responsible.

Why not give each Rep. multiple votes?

[Krugminator2]

You're reinforcing his point.

Yes, states could be held to a libertarian standard by a libertarian federal government. But who, then, holds the federal government to a libertarian standard?

If the whole country were to be libertarian enough for long enough to produce a libertarian majority on the supreme court, how necessary would that enforcement be? If the people ceased being/voting libertarian, for how long would the libertarian standard be maintained by the judiciary?

That makes sense, because I basically agreed with it. My point is the judiciary is the most likely place to result in libertarianism because it is the least accountable to voters.

[Champ]

To even hint at the idea that we need a reduction in the size of government. Blasphemy. Who would build the roads?

[Occam's Banana]

Not true, the bigger the country the smaller the government must be.

Yeah, sure, okay.

How's that working out for you?

[Swordsmyth]

Yeah, sure, okay.

How's that working out for you?

Poorly, people aren't following that rule it makes things terrible.

[Occam's Banana]

Poorly, people aren't following that rule it makes things terrible.

QED

[Swordsmyth]

QED

If you like to think so you may.

[nobody's_hero]

Do my eyes deceive me, or are you making an argument for free immigration?

I'm making an argument for borders and jurisdictions, and separation thereof. Every day I wake up and thank heavens that California's border is some 2,000 miles away from Georgia. Whereas If California controlled everything, we'd be fk'd.

[r3volution 3.0]

I'm making an argument for borders and jurisdictions, and separation thereof. Every day I wake up and thank heavens that California's border is some 2,000 miles away from Georgia. Whereas If California controlled everything, we'd be fk'd.

But a variety of jurisdictions wouldn't be useful in the way you suggest if people weren't able to actually travel between them, no?

[Raginfridus]

Poorly, people aren't following that rule it makes things terrible.

What rule?

[Swordsmyth]

What rule?

Originally Posted by Swordsmyth

Not true, the bigger the country the smaller the government must be.

...

[Weston White]

Our federal government is not coextensive to enduring a national government. The several states are of a strong form of governance, existing as distinctly sovereign, excepting only that which is enumerated under the authority of our federal government. We are only democratic so far as our system of voting to elect accountable representatives and in certain respects goes beyond mere majority voting for things such as constitutional amendments, treaties, and tax increases; while, in all other political matters we are a constitutional republic, being of strictly defined powers.