What is bicameralism? Why did the United States select this type of organization? Would it be better for the United States if we did away with our bicameral system?
Bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative bodies or parliament chambers. This is the type of Congress that the United States has, having both a Senate to equally represent each state, thus giving small states an advantage, and a House of Representatives that is based on population, thus favoring the larger states. The United States selected this organization because of two proposals and a compromise that was made between them. One proposals at the the Constitutional Convention was a unicameral legislature that would have each state represented equally. This was the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan was quite the opposite in that it was a bicameral structure based solely on population of the states. The Great Compromise was proposed and used in the US's actual constitution what was a compromise between these two plans, creating one house for population and one house for equal representation. The US has functioned with this system for many years, however I believe we could remove this system because it both creates gridlock in Congress and allows for unequal representation of smaller states, making someone's vote in the Senate for New Jersey, count more than someone's vote from California because New Jersey's population is much less. SOURCE: http://haynes.jpschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2013/07/new_jersey_plan_vs._virginia_plan.pdf
I agree that we can get rid of bicameralism, I also think that allows for unequal representation for smaller states that does lead to votes in some states being worth more than votes in other states.
I disagree with both Austin and Sydney. I think it would be worse if we did away with our bicameral legislature. Bicameralism allows for power to be divided, not centralized. It is beneficial to both large and small states, with varying demographics, to have their constituents represented. Even though at times there is gridlock, bicameralism is essential to the initial set up of our government and prevents centralized power.
I also agree, Bicameral legislature causes to create unequal representation. And because of the large group of Congress, it is difficult to create policy and media tends to stay away from Congress because it is hard for Congress to be represented by the large amount of people involved. It decentralizes power but it can also create policy gridlock due to the "battle" between political parties
I disagree. I think that bicameralism is a very important part of the nation we are today. Bicameralism comes from the ability of the two houses to check each other’s power. Bicameralism allows both the majority and the minority to be represented equally. Yes, bicameral legislature is a very slow process but this prevents quick and irrational decision making. This forces quality decision making and compromise that is not often seen in unicameral legislature.
Bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative bodies or parliament chambers. This is the type of Congress that the United States has, having both a Senate to equally represent each state, thus giving small states an advantage, and a House of Representatives that is based on population, thus favoring the larger states. The United States selected this organization because of two proposals and a compromise that was made between them. One proposals at the the Constitutional Convention was a unicameral legislature that would have each state represented equally. This was the New Jersey Plan. The Virginia Plan was quite the opposite in that it was a bicameral structure based solely on population of the states. The Great Compromise was proposed and used in the US's actual constitution what was a compromise between these two plans, creating one house for population and one house for equal representation. The US has functioned with this system for many years, however I believe we could remove this system because it both creates gridlock in Congress and allows for unequal representation of smaller states, making someone's vote in the Senate for New Jersey, count more than someone's vote from California because New Jersey's population is much less. SOURCE: http://haynes.jpschools.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/119/2013/07/new_jersey_plan_vs._virginia_plan.pdf
ReplyDeleteI agree that we can get rid of bicameralism, I also think that allows for unequal representation for smaller states that does lead to votes in some states being worth more than votes in other states.
DeleteI disagree with both Austin and Sydney. I think it would be worse if we did away with our bicameral legislature. Bicameralism allows for power to be divided, not centralized. It is beneficial to both large and small states, with varying demographics, to have their constituents represented. Even though at times there is gridlock, bicameralism is essential to the initial set up of our government and prevents centralized power.
DeleteI also agree, Bicameral legislature causes to create unequal representation. And because of the large group of Congress, it is difficult to create policy and media tends to stay away from Congress because it is hard for Congress to be represented by the large amount of people involved. It decentralizes power but it can also create policy gridlock due to the "battle" between political parties
DeleteI disagree. I think that bicameralism is a very important part of the nation we are today. Bicameralism comes from the ability of the two houses to check each other’s power. Bicameralism allows both the majority and the minority to be represented equally. Yes, bicameral legislature is a very slow process but this prevents quick and irrational decision making. This forces quality decision making and compromise that is not often seen in unicameral legislature.
Delete