The case of Wal-Mart was interesting given that they went over the ruling of the council and requested a citizen’s opinion. I am not sure that I agree with Professor Silver’s evaluation that this was wrong. Obviously, Wal-Mart felt this ruling was unjust and wanted the citizens to decide. As discussed in class many times, not all laws are right and there needs to be a significant change in order to improve the laws. Generally, this comes given a crisis but this was enough of a crisis for Wal-Mart to initiate the vote.
In my opinion, there cannot be a better way to fairly decide an issue than letting the citizens decide. Often times our representatives can be easily influenced and lose sight of what their citizens want. I understand that Wal-Mart’s PR power far out-weighed that of the private citizen groups; but if there is an issue that people do not want then it does not matter how much money Wal-Mart has the measure will not pass.
I agree with Professor Silver that it is impossible for citizens to be aware of all policy matters. But I do, however, feel that it is the responsibility of every citizen to be aware of the issues for which they vote. If your vote is not based on information, then in my opinion there is no point in voting. The severity of this issue should be understood by all citizens.
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