Here Is an Example From Oregon Illustrating Why I Prefer a Representative Republic to Direct Democracy
Oregon, a state that we talk about a lot on this blog because it seems to be in the forefront of a lot of good and bad ideas, just raised taxes through a ballot initiative. Meaning, the good people of Oregon used the power of initiative petition to just jack up the tax rates on business and the “wealthy” in Oregon. A famous anonymous quote (often misattributed to Alexander Tytler and Alexis de Tocqueville) observed, “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess out of the public treasury.” Luckily, the people of America have mostly proven that prediction wrong. However, votes like the one in Oregon, as well as the inevitable entitlement crisis we’ll face in about 20 years, may prove it right one day.
And, yes, I am aware that the entitlement crisis is just as much to blame on the elected officials who put the programs in as on the people who support them with their votes.
Both this entry and past attempts on this blog to denigrate initiative and referendum by pointing out some particularly bad result of a ballot vote have been instances of selective memory and confirmation bias. On net, initiatives are used far more often in service of positive outcomes — and have an astonishingly better track record in this regard than any representative body in the United States.
There’s no doubt that the initiative & referendum process has led to some terrible laws being passed, but those drawbacks are few and far between. Overall, I&R has cut taxes, slashed spending, passed term limits, and increased government transparency.
The drawbacks are especially slim when compared to the track record of legislators, who regularly pass laws that make the worst excesses of citizen initiatives seem like models of fiscal restraint.
So, ultimately, I see the initiative process as one more check on government power — which is fully compatible with the structure of a representative republic. We might quibble about just how easy it should be to get something on a ballot, or what percentage of the vote any particular proposal should have to garner before passing, but direct democracy is an essential *component* of a functional republic.
Comment by Eric D. Dixon — January 27, 2010 @ 1:22 p.m.
The tax increases, which would raise about $727 million largely for public education and social services, were approved last year by the Legislature, but later put to a public referendum after opponents gathered signatures in a petition campaign.
from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/27/us/28oregon.html?ref=politics
It is both representative republic (dessert topping) and direct democracy (floor wax).
Comment by Papillon — January 27, 2010 @ 3:19 p.m.
It was definitely not an instance of selective memory or confirmation bias. This is a blog where we comment on current events. The tax-raising referendum happened yesterday. If there had been an example of a positive use of initiative and referendum yesterday, I likely would have commented on that.
Comment by David Stokes — January 27, 2010 @ 3:22 p.m.
Thanks for the new information, Papillon. In my defense, the article I first saw about the story made no mention of that. With that new information, the new lesson to be drawn is one that our tax-exempt status does not allow me to make. Snicker, snicker…
Comment by David Stokes — January 27, 2010 @ 3:28 p.m.
You framed the issue as an example of why you prefer a representative republic to direct democracy. By that logic, every time a bad law is passed by a legislature or city council, you should frame it as a reason to prefer direct democracy over a representative republic.
One example does not a trend make. The plural of anecdote is not data. Etc.
Comment by Eric D. Dixon — January 27, 2010 @ 3:30 p.m.
It seems that the plural of anecdote may indeed be data:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/quotes-uncovered-whats-the-plural-of-anecdote/#more-33225
Comment by David Stokes — April 29, 2010 @ 2:28 p.m.