OK, Now I Get It

After reading Tam's post on the 17th Amendment, I thought to myself "What's the big deal? Isn't electing your politicians a Good Thing?"

Then, she 'splained it in a way that even I could understand:

There would certainly be a whole lot fewer unfunded mandates.

As it is now:

Representative: “My constituents want free stuff!”
Senator: “Yeah! My constituents want free stuff!“

As it was supposed to be:

Representative: “My constituents want free stuff!”
Senator: “Whoah, whoah, whoah! How are we supposed to pay for all this crap back in Des Moines?“

That's better.

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone actually say those things in example #2?