Propositions you like

The hard challenge is to have a proposition system which can get you the ones you like but avoid the abuses. Perhaps with the lessons of California and other states things can be improved. But people have a very hard time doing the math I describe. They will think that a system that gives them 50% propositions that are good for the state and 50% bad is a good idea, when it's not.

What you want to avoid are:

• Propositions that provide strong financial benefits to private parties. These will cause huge funding efforts by those parties, and the vote will tend to mirror the money. No proposition should be such that it will make billions for a group of private interests -- that's a pretty strong limitation.
• Harder to accept is you may not want propositions that will cost companies billions, they will spend it to stop it. Problem is there are a lot of propositions of this type, almost all business regulation will show up here.
• The legislature should be given the chance to vote on the proposition if it is within their power to enact. Only if it fails there should it become a ballot proposition. This limits us to things the legislature can't or won't do.
• You need some limit on fundraising and bond-issuing propositions sponsored by the government. In California, local tax increases that have a specific purpose require 2/3 vote which they almost never get, but even then many of the trick propositions for motherhood issues -- normally schools -- get past this rule.