Common Sense on Legislative Size

Paul Jacob’s latest “Common Sense” deals with the size of the Pennsylvania Legislature.  Jacob advises:

[D]on’t cut the size of the legislature. But by all means cut the cost.

The problem Pennsylvanians have in reforming their state is that — shockingly — self-interested politicians are resistant to reform, and the voters lack an initiative process to do the job themselves.

Click here for the audio version.

In our own analysis, we found very little connection between the number of legislators and government spending, taxes, economic freedom, or any other outcomes.  On the other hand, legislative professionalism – i.e. number of staff, session length, pay and penefits – has a more more important and profound impact