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September 22, 2007
Two from the times
In Free the Statue of Liberty, they rail against closing the crown for anti-terror or fire control reasons, instead suggesting a daily lottery of a limited number of access tickets. That's not a bad idea, but I have a fairer method of allocating that limited access. Do what other national parks do when they get full and charge an access fee. They even have a special program you can apply to for free access if you are too poor to afford regular admission. That strikes me as a fine compromise. If you'd like to see Lady Liberty's nooks and crannies, they you'll have to do some planning ahead and pay your $20. Like other parks fees, I'd expect this one to go into the general parks budget.
In 2008, Bush v. Gore Redux? is an article about a ballot proposal to split California's electoral votes based on who carries each congressional district. As a resident of California I would certainly support such a measure. California almost always goes to the Democrats in national elections and so rarely gets much campaign attention. With 5 or 6 of the 55 electoral votes in play suddenly it would be come a relevant state in which to campaign.I may have to file a policy like this in the same bucket as the line item veto, the nice idea but still unconstitutional category because many scholars think it is a Article II violation, which requires state legislatures (and not referendums) to decide how electors are chosen. It may come down to the legality of delegating such powers to the referendum process. Is the manner in which electors are chosen a non-delegable power? Herbert seems concerned that this could tie up another election in legal battles, but I'm not worried about that. If a rule is a good policy then the mere fact it will inconvenience one election hardly seems relevant. If I really thought it would bring down our government, then I'd entertain opposing the rule on that basis, but that's not what we are talking about here. If we really want people to feel their vote matters, then proportional voting systems like the one proposed for California will improve the quality of our civic life, even at a small cost in the short term.
Posted by OneEyedMan at September 22, 2007 8:40 AM
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