Inactive Congress Is the Product of Our Own Doing
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by Benedict James
If you aren't aware, Congress just amended the eUS constitution. The amendment restructured the way in which the branches of the government coordinate with one another.
Read it here.
Interestingly, less than half the Congressmen originally elected voted.
Why? Inactivity in Congress is a known problem. How did we get there? How do we fix it?
Our political system works nothing like a true political system where ideas are debated and where the direction of our country is decided through heated arguments on the floor of Congress. Congressmen do not win elections; they are chosen. Candidates put forth platforms acting as if they are up on all the current issues. But everyone knows that these platforms are inside jokes to make the common citizen think they are more qualified than they actually are.
As a result, Congressmen get elected to Congress without any sense of responsibility or duty. Why should a Congressmen be active when it doesn't matter, when no one pays attention?
On the one hand, the problem is a result of Congressmen being chosen rather than truly earning their right to be in Congress. On the other hand, we need to choose Congressmen because we are constantly under attack by incessant PTO attempts.
Because there aren't vibrant communities in each of the elected states who care about who represents them, there is simply no way to guarantee that legitimate candidates will actually run in each of our states. Accordingly, we choose candidates to run and we choose who's going to win.
tl;dr? States are meaningless; therefore our Congressmen suck.
How do we fix this problem? I see two solutions:
1.) We acknowledge this problem and come up with an off-platform system to engage in actual debates. In other words, we move to a more explicit republican style of government. We allow interested candidates to actually debate on the issues. We vote on these candidates off-platform. Whoever gets the most votes is the Congressmen chosen to win in a certain state. Who can vote in these off-platform elections? I suggest giving each party 10 votes to cast in each state. So, for example, two candidates are interested in running in Missouri. We have a debate on the IRC. 10 representatives from every party vote on the candidate they want to win in MO. Whoever gets the most votes is the candidate chosen and the parties work to get that candidate elected.
2.) In v2, when classes are more important and when the class system is in full effect, we should encourage people to move to the state of their choosing. I'm not sure if there will be a need for "fortress states" anymore, so no more encouraging people to move to Kanartaka.
When v2 comes out, I'll let you know about option 2.
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Comments
The system is awful. I agree with the sentiment. I think the possibility of V2 is the only that will correct our warped system.
Not all congressmen are chosen. In the FEDS you have to hold a party position and do the work to even make a list of people who are considered.
For your option 1 to work would require the game makers to change the game mechanics. I don't think it is possible to get the big 5 parties to do what you suggest. You can't force the Party Presidents to cooperate.
Publish list of inactive congress members(or at least Active MPs) then we will have a better decision for next month election.
So a group of 50 from the top 5 parties decides who should be in Congress?
Not sure how this is really much different from now. Also agree w/FireSand on practicality of that approach.
Agree w/you that V2 will shake things up though. Should be interesting.
Would that kill the chance of smaller parties being able to get into congress?
"Would that kill the chance of smaller parties being able to get into congress? "
Right now, only top 5 party presidentes can nominate congressmen. So you have to run through a top 5 party if you want to get into congress.
The current system sucks, and your first option is a good idea. I would support something like it if it worked with Game Mechanics. I hope V2 does away with fortresses, since that would solve the problem.
Here is one way to make Congress a bit more active: Elect Me!
Nice Article.