I don’t agree that lawmaking would be improved if regular people voted directed on policy issues. Although it might be tempting to think that holding referendums would make things more fair or democratic, in reality it probably would not improve decision making and might actually make it worse.
There are several major disadvantages to holding referendums. First of all, they are complicated and expensive to organize. National elections cost millions of dollars, take months of planning, and require an entire dedicated office or organization to run. Organizing nation-wide votes on a regular basis would be costly in both energy and tax dollars. Even once a referendum is organized, millions of people need to take time off work or other responsibilities to get to a polling station, wait in line, and cast their vote. Voter turnout is already relatively low, and holding regular votes would probably mean fewer and fewer participants in these complicated and expensive endeavors.
A second major advantage is lack of knowledge and expertise. Every day people may have good intentions when they cast a vote, but it’s difficult for the average person to know enough about such a broad range of issues that they can consistently make informed choices about complex and contentious topics. Politicians, on the other time, have access to countless resources that will inform their decision-making (e.g. consultation with lawyers and researchers, commissioning studies, coordinating with important businesses and organizing). Ordinary people simply do not have the time or resources to be as well-informed as their elected lawmakers.
Finally, holding referendums is simply redundant in the context of an already-established and relatively functional democratic election system. For example, is a particular person feels a certain way about immigration, tax rates, and environmental policies, he can vote for a politician who shares these views and who will vote on legislation that reflects those views. There is no need to create extra processes when one is already in place.
Taken altogether, it’s much better to focus on electing politicians in a fair, democratic process than it is to try to hold referendums so that the general public can decide on public policy issues.