We often lament our Congress as a “do-nothing” body, but are they truly unproductive? What about state legislatures? “Productivity” in legislatures is often thought of as simply how many bills they get passed or whether they address certain issues. However, “productivity” is not a clearly defined term, and there are some complications that arise when trying to define it.

Today’s episode of Politics with Paul delves into both data and philosophical considerations of the productivity of Congress and state legislatures. How often do congressional and state legislative bills get passed? Why do so many bills die so early in the legislative process? Is the failure of so much legislation a good or bad thing? How should we define “productivity”?

Download my FREE 5-day educational email course: https://detoxifyamericanpolitics.com/

My website: https://paulrader.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulRaderWrites

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulrader352/

Medium: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/

Email: [email protected]

Matchmaker FM profile for booking me on your podcast: https://www.matchmaker.fm/podcast-guest/paul-rader-329e65

(0:00) Introduction to Legislative Productivity

(2:27) 4 of the Key Differences Between Legislative Processes

(13:07) Statistics on the Success of Congressional Bills

(21:19) Statistics on the Success of State Legislative Bills

(30:38) 4 of the Major Reasons Why Bills Often Die So Early

(42:35) Is it a Bad Thing That So Many Bills Die Early?

(47:13) How Should We Define “Productivity” in Legislatures?

(54:47) Final Thoughts and Closing