The gridlock in legislatures, both in Congress and several state legislatures, has led citizens to “legislate” by other means. Citizens in my home state of Washington filed a legal case against the state to increase funding for education. They alleged that the government failed to satisfy the state constitutional mandate calling for an adequate education for all Washington children. The state supreme court agreed and placed the legislature under orders to increase funding. The legislature is currently scrambling to find the funds, being placed under threat of fines if it does not.

We see increased use of ballot initiatives to allow citizens more input into the legislative process. Both governors and the president issue more executive orders. Court cases, ballot measures, and executive orders are attempts to detour around stalled lawmakers. Such measures will continue as long as our representatives are unable to compromise and pass legislation. Political hardening and name calling (hatred in some cases) make compromise appear as “giving in to the enemy.”

Polls indicate that legislatures are sometimes at odds with what citizens actually want. Perhaps contributions to election campaigns coming from moneyed interests are overriding the public will.