The only observation I can make about Steven Taylor’s remarks at Outside the Beltway about our present lack of representativeness in the federal government is that there’s very little wrong with our present system that can’t be cured by substantially increasing the number of states and decreasing the size of Congressional districts and increasing the number of representatives. Capping the size of a Congressional district at, say, 100,000 people being represented would mean a House with about 3,300 members. How can two senators adequately represent the interests of a single state with a population ten times the size of entire United States in 1790. There were 26 senators than.
Divvying up states and increasing the size of the senate would require a constitutional amendment but increasing the size of the House could be done by ordinary legislation.
3,300 is a lot, it would make the House the largest legislature in the world. Do you believe there is a size beyond which the House becomes unworkable as a legislature?
Relative to our population it would be about the same size as the UK’s, France’s, or Germany’s.
Let’s rephrase your question. Is there a size beyond which representative government becomes unworkable? The solution to that is devolution of powers other than the military and foreign policy from the federal to state governments.
Technically; divvying up states only require approval from the legislature of the states involved and the Congress. That was how Maine, Kentucky were formed. No constitutional amendment required.
Which is a different requirement from expanding the House which requires approval from Congress and the President.
Technically you’re right. Politically I doubt that the large states (which are the ones that need to be divvied up) will relinquish their present power voluntarily which is why I believe a constitutional amendment would be necessary. An example of what needs to be done is that many of the major metro areas should be states. Sort of “DC statehood” on steroids.
Enlarging the House by itself has a similar problem. I doubt that the small states will diminish their present power in the Electoral College voluntarily.
“How can two senators adequately represent the interests of a single state with a population ten times the size of entire United States in 1790.”
Look at a map of the United States county by county. Red or blue. Its a sea of red. Its the cities that are blue. 1 or 2 in most states. I don’t see it as a prodigious task.