"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 27 Jul 2006 14:56:46 GMT, "Ken Finney"
wrote:
There was a step in the middle. Originally, you had
to be a landowner. Then many (most? all?) places
changed the requirement to a poll tax, then the Civil
Rights Act outlawed poll taxes.

If someone doesn't own property, why should they have a
say in how the country is run? Yeah, it might "disenfranchise"
those inner city warren inhabitants in the northeast, but I
don't believe that would necessarily be a *bad* thing...

Property ownership doesn't convey any type of civic responsibility. If we
are going to fantasize I would prefer a voting system similar to what
Heinlien proposed in Starship Troopers. In that society anyone could vote
if they performed a period of service in the military. After their tour of
duty then they were full citizens. I would bring back the Civilian
Conservation Corp and provide that as another option for providing a period
of service to your country in lieu of the military.