Should the amount of House representatives, and consequently EVs, increase?

[MarkD]

I (arbitrarily) chose a number in the 550-600 range.
Capitol Hill will have to undergo a bit of a remodeling, though.

On a related note, I also support an increase in the number of seats in one particular state legislature -- California. Instead of 40 Senators and 80 Assemblymen, it ought to be increased to 75 Senators and 225 Assemblymen.

[MarkD]

Only with term limits.  Somebody please explain to me why it's acceptable for someone to have a combined 60 years in both houses?  There's other things in life to do. I'd support this with term limits and a limit on spending in federal campaigns.

Let me flip that on its head: Why is it acceptable to ban someone from running for office if their constituents like them?

What if the reason that most representatives get elected is that they get earmarks for pork-barrel projects? If they don't, they may face a challenger backed by the beneficiaries of the projects. Instead they get a comfortable position for life if they want, they get pampered by lobbyists.

It can be a corrupting system, and the representatives are no longer representative of their communities.

According to George F. Will's book, Restoration, the reason for term limits is indeed that members of Congress get pork-barrel projects for their states and districts which are crucial to ensure their re-election. But according to the way Will argued the point, the voters share the blame; voters will always re-elect a politician who brings home lots of bacon. Will was not critical of lobbyists; he was critical of politicians who make a career out of buying votes from their constituents by using their own tax money. Vote for me because I'm the best at bringing home the bacon!