Our state government has been asking educational institutions and other agencies to tighten their belts and make drastic cuts in their budgets. I have a suggestion for how our state can slash the cost of government in a politically neutral way that should appeal to both political parties.

Why don’t we eliminate one of the two houses of the Legislature?

There is no good reason to have two houses in the Legislature. In the 1960s, the Supreme Court ruled that both houses must be apportioned according to population, instead of one house according to population and the other house according to geographical lines. Thus, any logical, historical basis for having two houses of the Legislature no longer exists.

Our system of checks and balances rests with an independent executive branch and an independent judiciary. The state of Nebraska has a unicameral legislature and does not appear to be any the worse for it.

Despite both houses being currently controlled by the Democrats, the Legislature could not complete its work on the state budget in its allotted time. The House and Senate have identical constituencies and yet they can’t seem to reach a consensus on what to do.

<iRichard McCune – Bellevue