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Jay Evensen: Give thanks to part-time Legislature

George Bernard Shaw had it right: �Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.�

Jay Evensen states that Utah is growing at the rate of 10 per hour - Well, someone has to find that woman and stop her!

Legislators will have my thanks when they repeal the entire Utah Code and go home.

I appreciate the legislators service, but I also appreciate the teachers service. I voted against vouchers primarily because it made the teachers uncomfortable. Even if vouchers are a good idea, it is not right to discomfort the teachers. Good ideas need to be brought forth in such a way that they don't hurt the very people you depend on to provide you a valuable service.

That said, when it comes to improving education, teachers and their unions shouldn't stand in the way of needed reform. The unions should stand up for the teachers quality of live but not against needed reforms that will improve education.

There is one major defect of "citizen legislatures" and that is that more often then not crazy people end up getting elected because the majority of the people in their neighborhoods are crazy as well.

We have only to look at Bramble, Herrod, Sandstrom, Hendrickson and many others to see that Utah's type of legislature is defective. It's true that a full-time legislature has its faults too but it's better then a part-time legislature where those who are making the laws tend to be unhinged as a result of them running for office as a hobby.

A full-time legislature prevents this in that it requires whomever is serving to give their full time, talents and energy to the task of legislating while it's a hobby for many of our current legislators who sponsor crazy bills because they don't take their responsibility seriously.

It's only for 45 days a year (not counting interim) and then they get back to their "real jobs" and can pretend to be sane in front of their employers while demonstrating to the people of Utah that they are deranged. They don't think of us as their employers and don't feel they owe us anything.

Please, Mr. Evenson, I thought you had more integrity. This is a more-subtle-than-Mr.Lockhart-"they're really nice people" plea. Legislators should listen to those who elect them--(1)NO to tax cuts; (2) we want to put any excess (and then some) into public education; (3) The public does not respect lies and lack of civility (remember the voucher vote); (4) All opinion polls put EVERY group above the legislature in terms of "we know their names," integrity, believability--even UEA. Let's see a little humility from our elected public servants this session.

As a former intern in the state legislature, I saw first hand how dedicated most (notice I say "most") of Utah's legislators are. They work hard and are by and large motivated by good intentions. This realization was difficult for me to come to being a Democrat from SLC and a former naysayer. Begrudgingly, I came to respect many individuals from both sides of the aisle even though I disagree with the outcome. But that is representative democracy in action.

This op-ed does not mention that much that the retia of the Utah legislature are the college interns that also work long hours during those 45 days. They are the foot soldiers of the legislature tasked with myriad duties: constituent services, research, running up and down the capital building fetching the most recently revised version of a bill, and on and on.