If anything rings through perfectly clear during these tumultuous political times, and which almost everyone can agree upon regardless of political stripe, is that the current system of government in the US is broken. The worst of the worst is our inept and dysfunctional congress.
At the time of the 6th US Congress in 1800 there were 106 members of congress representing 16 states and a population of 5.3 million people, or about 50,000 people per representative.
At that time, there was only one constitutional rule relating to the size of the House: “The Number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty Thousand, but each State shall have at Least one Representative.” Congress regularly increased the size of the House to account for population growth until it fixed the number of voting House members at 435 in 1911.
The Fifteenth United States Census conducted by the Census Bureau in 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046. Therefore, in 1930, each member of congress represented about 282, 241 people, which is roughly equivalent to the population of Newark, NJ. Indeed this is hardly as ‘representative’ as the Founder Fathers envisioned. It gets worse.
In April of 2010, the Census bureau determined the US population to be about 308,745,538 people, representing a 151% increase in population in 80 years. Therefore, in 2010, each member of congress represented about 709,760 people, roughly the current size of El Paso, TX.
The current US population is ~ 331,883,986. Each member of congress now represents ~ 762,952 persons. This closely approximates the population of Seattle, WA. Note that Seattle has 9 council members representing the city’s populace, each therefore representing ~ 85,000 people.
Let’s consider other members of politics:
· US President: 1
· US Senators: 100
· US State Governors: 50
· US State Legislators: Countless
· US City Mayors: Countless
I defy you to identify 10 of all of these people, that you believe truly represents your best interests. And if you do, frankly you’re either delusional or lying. Put more than two random people together and you are almost guaranteed a political argument.
I fear we are witnessing the onset of a new, albeit hopefully less violent, political revolution. The hope is that the separation of powers permits changes to occur while preventing inflated personalities (from all sides) from throwing us into the abyss. But one thing is for certain: congressional representatives are not working in the best interests of their constituents, but, rather, to satisfy their own lust for power, wealth and fame.
In my next post I will detail how Congress can be fixed and create greater equitable representation for all American voters.