This is a weighty subject which leads to an exploration of causes and effects which few learn in school.  Yet, those causes and effects have made American democracy what it is today, an institution which works for most the people only some of the time, while for some people most of the time. 

I learned from a staffer at the U.S. Capitol that we had had one hundred fifty members of the House of Representatives in 1789, when the first Congress had begun its work.  America had had four million residents, meaning that each member had represented about twenty-seven thousand constituents. 

As our population grew, so did the number of members of the House of Representatives, until the early 1900s, when the number stopped at four hundred thirty-five.  Today, a member of Congress represents, on average, about six hundred eighty-nine thousand constituents.  That is an increase of about twenty-five times.  

In Montebello, we began with five city councilors in 1920.  There were three thousand residents.  Today, we still have five city councilors with about sixty-five thousand residents.  That is an increase of about twenty-one times.  

The obvious conclusion is that each elected official has more constituents for whom to provide.  This is more than a “fun fact,” because such a change has led to several changes for the worse which the founders might not have foreseen.

October 11, 2007