The Maddy Report- Reforming CA Part 2 (3 of 5)- Direct Democracy

In the 1970s, California's Legislature was described as one of the finest in the world because of the expertise, diligence and collegiality of its members. The opinion of the legislature, however, has undergone a stunning decline in the last 30 years. A recent poll found that 81 percent of voters disapproved of the legislature and only 12 percent approved. Due to the hyper-partisan environment in Sacramento, the one thing that does appear to be bipartisan is the willingness of both Democrats and Republicans to punish their members when they do attempt to get things done by working across the aisle. The dysfunctional nature of state politics led The Economist magazine to call California a "failed state." How did things go so terribly wrong and what can be done to restore the California Dream? In Part Two of our two-part series on Reforming California, we'll talk with former Senate Minority Leader Dave Cogdill and former Assembly Minority Leader Mike Villines. We'll discuss how government can deliver better results with greater accountability, how to make the budget process more disciplined and focused so we only spend the money that we have and we spend it wisely and what are some of the key political reforms that could put the state back on track.

In the third section of Part 2 on Reforming California, the panel discusses reforming the initiative process and other forms of Direct Democracy in California in order to ensure accountability in the State Government

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Maddy
• Report
• 2011
• California
• Reform
• Politics
• Democracy
• Initiatives