A SIMPLE SOLUTION TO IMPROVE OUR GOVERNMENT

It's a holiday, King Kamehameha Day, in Hawaii, so if you wish to learn more about this warrior, click on that day.  While not an optimal solution for most of you, one way to improve the efficiency of government is to have a totalitarian state.  It was only around two centuries ago (1810) that Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kaui Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea conquered the Hawaiian Islands and established the Kingdom of Hawaii.  He was not quite a benevolent dictator.  Plus, Facism and Communism did not work in Europe, and China enhanced the latter by adding free enterprise, so delete this option.

In the case of the USA, we have a democracy.  Or do we?  Thomas Friedman reports on Frank Fukuyama (End of History) writing that America has gone from democracy to vetocracy.  No important decisions are made anymore.  We are so polarized as a nation today that legislated solutions for Peak Oil and Global Climate Change are held hostage to the next election ad infinitum.  Obama Care snuck through because the previous Congress was totally controlled by Democrats.  As Republicans and Democrats have shown that they are the problem, why not instead, then, have only Independents working together?  What about government and industry in partnership for the good of humanity?  But how?

Froma Harrop (columnist with the Creators Syndicate, mostly a comic strip distributor, but it does have a bunch of reporters) today had an op-ed article on shifting to a one-ballot primary system to cut partisanship, which made a little bit of sense.  Essentially, states like California, Washington, Louisiana and Nebraska have a primary system where all names are tossed into the hat and the two contenders with the most votes run in the following general election.  However, you still have Republicans, Democrats and other parties.  It is just that two from the same party could well run against each other on November 6, reducing the power of the party, and, hopefully engender more partisanship at work.

Many states have an election process where a candidate who gets more than 50% of the votes wins outright.  Otherwise, the two highest vote getters run-off.  The Hawaii mayorship (City Hall in Honolulu left) follows this system.  Theoretically, no parties, so the city council members and mayor work as a team.  Well, this never quite happens, but it's better than the Democratic governor (President) fighting off a Republican legislature (Congress), so there is perpetual gridlock.  Worse, if one legislative body needs 60% of the votes to pass anything, as is the case with the U.S. Senate, forget it for progress.

Why not take it to the next level:  have only one election, making parties unnecessary.  If 50 people run and the highest gets 12%, so be it!  The best person won.  While we're at this, have a unicameral system, such as Nebraska (their Capitol to the right).  Half the world has only one legislative chamber, including China.

You say the minorities won't get represented?  They never are anyway.  Are you worried about lobbyists becoming more powerful?  Do as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wanted in the early days of planning for the USA:  make lobbying illegal.

Political parties and those in power have full control now.  Why would they want to give all that up?  They won't, and society is essentially powerless to make the right decision.  Some world-threatening cataclysmic crisis would work.  Maybe we won't have long to wait.

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