Final paper

A. One strength of the legislature

The legislature is mandated with making laws and policy which the government is meant to follow and implement. The legislature through the development of laws ensures that it’s able to serve the American people effectively while being able to limit and check the powers of the executive (Loomis, 2012). The legislature, through the located members, is meant to develop laws which will benefit the people they represent and also protect them from government overreach such as taxes and government spending.

B. One weakness of the legislature

Laws which are passed by congress can be overturned by a minority in senate making it hard for the government of the day which has a majority in congress and in senate from effectively performing their duties. The weakness is further complicated by the fact that bills have to be passed by both houses for them to be laws (Little & Ogle, 2006). With one party controlling or having a minority in senator, it is possible for them to push their own agendas and not the people’s agenda making it hard for the people’s interested to be fairly represented in the legislature.

C. One option to maintain strength of the legislature

The legislature through development of laws, has known to favor certain lobbyist who helped them to get into parliament. The legislature can be strengthening by ensuring that financiers are it given any power to influence any policy that is being debated and ensuring that communities rather than organizations and corporations are given a priority in the creation of laws. Laws which are seen to be favoring organizations should be disallowed in parliament based on merit. Corruption and collusion laws should be well defined to ensure that lobbying and influencing of bills and policy is discouraged. (Loomis, 2012)

D. One option to correct the weakness of the legislature

One of the policies which can be essential in ensuring that the weakness is fixed is through developing a policy in which if a law is passed in congress by a majority of more than two thirds, it should only require a minority in senate for it to pass. Another issue is to ensure that a simple majority in senate will have the laws passed and this will lead to laws and policies being passed with ease and the people will have an easier life. (Little & Ogle, 2006)

References

Little, T. H., & Ogle, D. B. (2006). The legislative branch of state government: people, process, and politics. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Loomis, B. A. (2012). The U.S. Senate: from deliberation to dysfunction. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

MacNeil, N., & Baker, R. (2013). The American Senate: An Insider's History. Oxford University Press.