5 ms·

Why?

• ams6110 15y ago
  Changing the constitution should not be something that can happen based on a (perhaps very temporary) swell of public sentiment
  • skimbrel 15y ago
    Agreed! My state, like a few others in the US, has voter initiatives that become constitutional amendments. The last one that made the news was the one that made it illegal for me to get married. Another initiative from a few decades ago is a major part of why California can't raise enough money to fund itself now. So yeah, I'm not a huge fan of ballot initiatives.
    • jcarreiro 15y ago
      The Economist had a very interesting report on democracy in California recently: http://www.economist.com/node/18563638?story_id=18563638 http://www.economist.com/node/18563638?story_id=18563638
  • gavinballard 15y ago
    In Australia's history, of 44 constitutional referendums held, only 8 have passed (3 of them in the same ballot). It's very difficult (some would say, too difficult) to amend the Australian constitution, and definitely not something that tends to happen with a "swell of public sentiment". Compare that to 11 amendments to the US Constitution over the same period (1901 onwards) - two of which I'd point out dealt with the introduction and repeal of Prohibition (which I'd say qualified as a "swell of public sentiment").