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So I had this idea. What if for a legislative body who's role was to provide "advice and consent", that is to shoot down things that are getting too radical and to provide expertise sometimes not found among the rough and tumble politicians that have to stand for every election, were appointed for life. But not appointed for life willy nilly by whatever party is in power in the executive or other legislative chamber, but in a regular and organized way from people randomly chosen from the voter rolls.
You pick a number of people to appoint every five years based upon estimates of mortality and so on to produce a body that varies in size around some mean. Once appointed these people are given a certain number of modest privileges; a special club for just them no matter if they're actively voting or not, a guaranteed income somewhere around the national mean plus just a little bit, immunity from prosecution unless proven before the highest court or something equally serious, and some sort of research staff. Sure they could just sit around on their asses and not do anything once in, but that's not so bad, and it probably won't be the majority until the individuals get to an age where they're too tired to do much. People love to have their opinions asked and this would be the ultimate thing of that. Snatched from obscurity by pure luck and then vetted by the party in power or in proportion to the top two or three parties to represent the nation. Who could stop talking about his or her opinions in a situation like that?
There would need to be provisions for supermajority overrides of this chamber of advice and consent, but it could produce some nifty results for legislation usually only found in the considered advice given out by the judicial branch of government. It would also be a terribly useful body for indicting members of other legislative bodies or the executive since once in the members don't owe anything to others to keep their position in society.
Like a House of Lords, but more democratic like.
You pick a number of people to appoint every five years based upon estimates of mortality and so on to produce a body that varies in size around some mean. Once appointed these people are given a certain number of modest privileges; a special club for just them no matter if they're actively voting or not, a guaranteed income somewhere around the national mean plus just a little bit, immunity from prosecution unless proven before the highest court or something equally serious, and some sort of research staff. Sure they could just sit around on their asses and not do anything once in, but that's not so bad, and it probably won't be the majority until the individuals get to an age where they're too tired to do much. People love to have their opinions asked and this would be the ultimate thing of that. Snatched from obscurity by pure luck and then vetted by the party in power or in proportion to the top two or three parties to represent the nation. Who could stop talking about his or her opinions in a situation like that?
There would need to be provisions for supermajority overrides of this chamber of advice and consent, but it could produce some nifty results for legislation usually only found in the considered advice given out by the judicial branch of government. It would also be a terribly useful body for indicting members of other legislative bodies or the executive since once in the members don't owe anything to others to keep their position in society.
Like a House of Lords, but more democratic like.