When the American West was growing up, the trendy thing to do was enshrine laws into one's constitution or city charter allowing for direct democracy via ballot

When the American West was growing up, the trendy thing to do was enshrine laws into one's constitution or city charter allowing for direct democracy via ballot proposition: every election day, there's a bizarre slate of proposals to consider, and any that receive 50+% become the law of the land. This even overrides the decisions of the legislature or courts. One result of this system is that in California, the needs of the few, or the one, outweigh the needs of the many. Don't want to pay high property taxes? Pass a proposition locking in all existing homeowners', and let the future generations get screwed. Do you live in a tall building next to a parking lot, and you're afraid someone will build there and block your view? Pass a proposition forbidding it! Worried that lack of tax revenue will keep you from getting a raise at your government job? Pass a proposition mandating a certain level of spending on your special interest. Everything is arranged to prop up the established ones. Seniority is the most important thing you can have -- most statements at public hearings begin with, "I've been living in this city for 34 years, and I think..." For other examples of status-quo-preserving red tape, google [CEQA] and [SF discretionary review].