I love acottawa's idea of a Senate that's a jury of (a well-read and politically interested subset of) our peers.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JHikka
If it's voluntary and only a year then you're more likely to attract clueless dorks, as you put it. People with nothing better to do to get a pay-raise in Ottawa for a year. Nobody is quitting a six-figure job for 12 months to sit in Senate.
It just sounds like a venture where nothing much would get done and would be an inherent waste of money, similar to the current Senate.
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With today's technology, there would definitely be no requirement at all to physically show up in Ottawa. And it would have to be part-time, of course; no one would quit their job.
For it to work the way acottawa intends it, the applicants would have to be randomly drawn from a pool of volunteers (therefore, excluding anyone politically apathetic), then go through some further selection to make sure they're educated and reasonable, and then the 100 "chosen ones" would keep their jobs and stay where they are, but pocket a bonus for their service (a few tens of thousands would be fair, I guess) in exchange for some part-time work throughout the year.
The voting records would be public, so if you're a slacker or someone who doesn't do the Senate part-time job seriously, then the people you know (your colleagues, your boss) can actually see it. Further motivation to do it well!
Since all the exchanges and brainstorming would take place via email, there would be no scheduling constraints, it would be reasonably easy to do the job in whatever free time these Yearly Senators have.