Kim, at last we agree on something! I also feel that more participation by the electorate will ultimately result in better government.

Doug, you are welcome to place that bet. My experience suggests otherwise; I think that the myth that waste and inefficiency only exist in government is so pervasive because it's always expressed in non-specific tems, which are difficult to refute. Also, I would note that, in the USA of the 20th/21st century, government and private industry are often "blended" when it comes to large industries -- whether they be part of Ike's "military-industrial complex" (so many of our big corporations are), or the energy industries, or many of the other industrial sectors. We don't truly have an independent private sector; the truth is that government and industry these days are virtually inseparable.