Tuesday, in my social research class, we discussed the "one person one vote" ruling and the shift of Congressional representatives from one state to another. Today in the NYTimes there was an interesting article about the very topic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/18/us/politics/18baker.html
Since each state is guaranteed one representative, the number of voters a member of Congress represents can vary considerably, from about 550,000 to 950,000. I thought it was interesting to read that the last time the membership of Congress was increased was in 1911, based on the 191o census. The huge waves of immigration between 1910 and 1920 meant that by 1920 there had been pretty dramatic population shifts, from the South to the Midwest and Northeast. There was tremendous political pressure not to adjust for these changes. The size of Congress has not been increased since then.
Should Congress be increased? And by how much? Do we want 1000 members of Congress (the number required to give equal representation)? Would that make the system any better?
2 comments:
Isn't this your golden son's birthday?
A little late to notice, weren't you?
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