Editorial: So much for the will of the people

Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2003 | 8:45 a.m.

At the turn of the 20th century, Nevada was among a number of states that started to allow direct democracy, a response to state legislatures being controlled by big-monied interests. Initiatives and referendums were used sparingly, but that all changed after California's passage in 1978 of Proposition 13, the anti-tax initiative. Special interest groups of all stripes from across the country realized they could go around state legislatures to enact sweeping changes to public policy. As reporter Erin Neff noted in a story Sunday about direct democracy in Nevada, of the 233 initiatives and referendums on the statewide ballot since 1900, nearly half have appeared since 1980.

One of the concerns about the initiative process today is that it actually gives more power to special interests and the wealthy. A case in point is a multimillionaire congressman's effort to recall California Gov. Gray Davis, even though he was easily re-elected in November. Some conservative groups in Nevada want to overturn parts of a tax increase passed by the Legislature and want to recall the Nevada Supreme Court justices whose decision (by a vote of 6 to 1) was instrumental in passage of the tax increase. The recall drive will further politicize the judiciary, which is supposed to make its decisions based on the law -- not on what will make them popular.

Our Founding Fathers wisely placed their faith in representative democracy, but there should be an avenue for direct democracy. Nevertheless, placing too much faith in governing by initiative is dangerous. It can lead to seemingly easy fixes, such as the two-thirds requirement to raise taxes, which can backfire by giving so much power to the minority that it eviscerates the will of the people.