Would a Parliamentary system work better for the USA than the current system

[hangfan91]

A parliamentary system similar to one in Canada, the UK, Japan, etc. where the executive branch of the government (the Prime Minister, the cabinet) is a part of the legislature and part of the party that controls the majority of seats in the House.

Pretty much: the PM can pass laws they want so long as their party has a majority, appoint judges, etc.

Would this be a better solution to end the current gridlock between the executive branch and the legislative branch?

[Mehmentum]

Not as long as gerrymandering exists.

[H. Ross Peron]

Would avoid the problem of lower midterm turnout

[Boston Bread]

Get rid of gerrymandering then yes.

[pbrower2a]

A parliamentary system similar to one in Canada, the UK, Japan, etc. where the executive branch of the government (the Prime Minister, the cabinet) is a part of the legislature and part of the party that controls the majority of seats in the House.

Pretty much: the PM can pass laws they want so long as their party has a majority, appoint judges, etc.

Would this be a better solution to end the current gridlock between the executive branch and the legislative branch?

We may have the worst of both worlds.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

Get rid of gerrymandering then yes.

[greenforest32]

It's not so much gridlock as it is incoherence. It's pretty rare to have a country elect the legislature every two years. Combine that with a presidential system where you have below average turn-out in mid-presidential-term elections and you get what we have. Add a healthy amount of corruption and billions of dollars of campaign spending every cycle and it's not surprising so many people (40-60% of the population) view the elections with contempt and abstain from voting.

We could definitely use some streamlining and simplification to make the choices more meaningful. Get rid of gerrymandering. Get rid of electoral laws that lead to a two party system. Add instant run-off voting and proportional representation. Automatically register every one to vote. Etc. But what are the chances of things like that happening? Very little. The system is working quite well for the people in power. It's frustrating.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

No, but I would be more interested as a spectator.

[Person Man]

We're kind of heading that way...