Our founding fathers worked tirelessly to ensure that our government was a representation of the people. while still maintaining stability that normal individuals lack. The checks and balances that each branch of government, legislative, executive, an judicial, possess are designed to make sure that one branch does not become too powerful, but do the American people really have any power? I believe the government does a fairly decent job at representing the wants of the people, but it is limited to how well it can represent us.
One of my examples of how government represents America in a "sorta-kinda" way is a recent example from our midterm election. What may have been one of the hottest issues in Florida, the legalization of medical marijuana, was also the issue that caused the most uproar when it didn't pass. Most young Floridians did not know that in order for a law to be passed you need not a majority, but 60% of the vote. With 59% of the votes being "yes", the majority of voters were not
…show more content…
Senate. Each U.S. Senator serves a 6 year term, with no term limits. One third of senators are up for re-election at a time. With only two senators per state, it is extremely important that those two senators be an accurate representation of it's constituents. In order for the representatives to fully represent the people of their state, one would think you would have elections more often, rather than every six years. If the views of the people change, they may still have a senator, or even two, who is passing legislation that is contrary to the views and wants of the people. On the contrary, office holders generally want to be reelected, unless they are a lame duck, so they often follow the wants of their constituents. The reasoning for the staggered terms will be explained in the next
We often wonder about the importance of government. Is it necessary? Does it really benefit society? The answer is yes. Many countries have diverse forms of government such as totalitarian, monarchy, theocracy, and much more. The United States of America specifically runs a democratic type of government. A democratic government gives power to the people. Citizens over the age of eighteen are allowed to elect leaders based on their individual opinions through voting rights. The main purpose of the American government is, to protect people’s inalienable rights to life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness as our Founding Fathers intended.
Like the previous argument, this one can be countered with Federalist No. 51. “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” The government is a creation of the people and the only power is derived from the masses. Without the faith of the people, both the government and union could fall to ruin. The checks and balances system allows the government to regulate itself against encroachment and the creation of such factions described in Federal Farmer 3. While each branch is accountable to each other, should a faction be created within the government with ill intent, they will be held accountable to the people. If those that act against the will of the masses are not removed from office, the government will have to answer to the people, their main source of power. Ambition will counter ambition.
America is in the hands of a select few. A tiny fraction of the population holds any real political power, while the rest simply sit idly by. This goes against the very principle of democracy. Aristotle said of this
Change is difficult and requires strong support from the voters to start the process. Currently, the two houses of the United States Congress are not restricted as to the number of terms they may serve. Under our Constitution, members of the Senate may serve an unlimited number of six-year terms and members of the House of Representatives may serve an unrestricted number of two-year terms. Their job consists of protecting the interests of their constituents (the voters back home). They organize committees to study issues of public policy, recommend action, and pass laws. Both houses of Congress must approve a bill for it to become a law. To begin the process of restricting the years of Congressional terms, it would require recommending a bill for an amendment separately and the proposal being debated in the two houses of Congress. If the bills were passed by two-thirds of the legislators in each House of Congress, then the bills would be combined into a Joint Resolution which would be sent to each of the fifty States. The Joint Resolution would be placed upon each Sta...
The United States has a system of checks and balances that limit the majority’s power. The Constitution protects individual liberties and ensures that the majority cannot infringe upon them. The Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of speech, religion, and the press, among other rights. The judicial branch of government ensures that the majority’s power is limited by interpreting the Constitution and striking down laws that violate individual liberties.
“Incumbency is the time during which a person holds a particular office or position.” (Incumbency) An incumbent candidate is a candidate who is returning to a position or office. The president can serve only two four year terms. Senators and legislators can serve an unlimited amount of six year terms. Since George Washington was president, presidents usually served two terms. However, Franklin D. Roosevelt served four terms. This resulted in the 22nd amendment limiting the amount of terms to two. The 22nd amendment was passed by congress on March, 21st 1947 and ratified by the states in February 27th, 1951.
The United States is governed by a democracy. According to Dictoinary.com, democracy is “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system” (Dictoinary.com). This means that instead of having a supreme ruler, the citizens of a country have the right to vote for and choose their elected officials who will ultimately make the decisions for them. The benefit of a democracy is that depending on the public’s opinion, they can influence the government to run the way they want. This form of government provided the public with a great amount of freedom, yet is can potentially slow down the efficiency of governmental decisions. In order for a democracy to function well, public opinions must be somewhat similar to avoid gridlock. A democracy is good for public freedom, but must possess certain characteristics to provide effective results.
The United States of America is a republic, or representative democracy. Democracy, a word that comes to us from Greek, literally means the people rule (Romance, July 8). This broad definition leaves unanswered a few important details such as who are the people, how shall they rule, and what should they rule on (July 8). Defining the answers to those questions means defining a model for a democratic system. William E. Hudson defines four such models in his book American Democracy in Peril: the Protective, Developmental, Pluralist, and Participatory models of democracy (Hudson, 8-19). Of these models, perhaps Participatory comes closest to an ideal, pure democracy of rule by the people (16-19). In practice, however, establishing a stable ideal democracy is not entirely feasible. In a country the size of the United States, it quickly becomes unwieldy if not impossible to have direct rule by the people. To overcome this, the compromise of the representative system allows the people to choose who will rule on a regular basis. The political culture that defines American politics shows that despite this compromise, America is still very much a democratic society.
The government of the United States of America is very unique. While many Americans complain about high taxes and Big Brother keeping too close an eye, the truth is that American government, compared to most foreign democracies, is very limited in power and scope. One area American government differs greatly from others is its scope of public policy. Americans desire limited public policy, a result of several components of American ideology, the most important being our desire for individuality and equal opportunity for all citizens. There are many possible explanations for the reason Americans think this way, including the personality of the immigrants who fled here, our physical isolation from other countries, and the diversity of the American population.
The question of whether term limits in Congress should be established has been an ongoingly debated topic in the United States for years, and even more so since the recent election of President Donald Trump. While some believe that members of Congress and the House of Representatives should be allowed to serve as long as they continue to be re-elected, there are multiple disquieting issues with the same person holding a position in government for too long. The establishment of congressional term limits would positively impact the Legislative Branch by helping eliminate political corruption, putting an end to career politicians, as well as giving congressmen a sense of urgency to make a positive impact for their country. An ongoing issue within
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.
17 May 1787 -. The Senate is composed of 100 Members, 2 from each State, who are. elected to serve for a term of 6 years. Senators were originally chosen by the State legislature. This procedure was changed by the 17th amendment to the Constitution, adopted in 1913, which made the Constitution. election of Senators a function of the people.
In the diet, there are 512 members of the House of Representatives, chosen from 130 election districts, with one exception elects from 3 to 5 representatives. Each voter has one vote, but 3 to 5 candidates who receive the largest amount of votes are elected, and serve for 4 years unless the parliament is dissolved before the term expires. The house of Counselors consists of 252 members who are chosen for 6-year terms, where they most likely will serve their full term.
The American government prides itself on the foundational principle of democracy which allows individual voices to be heard. Afterall, the roots of power in our nation stem from the people. The Constitution was established to ensure the balance of powers among the federal government, state legislature, and the common people. Time, however, has worked against the American people in the battle towards democracy. The idea of a governing body drawing its power directly from its constituents has been undermined by the corrupt nature of modern politics where politicians act out of self-interest. While the Constitution and later amendments had every intention of securing basic liberties, certain limitations later undermined the original intentions of the founding fathers to give power back to the people by placing the larger majority of power in the hands of the state.
So, the question becomes; Do WE the people really have the final say and the power to back it up when the United States Congress decides to do what’s in ITS best interests instead of what’s in OUR best interests? And, if we DO, precisely WHAT can we do? Think about it; I’m just asking.