Two houses? or one?

One of the things we take for granted in state and federal government are the two houses - the Senate and the House of Representatives. But why should there be two? What about a system that has only one house in the legislature?

This is not as far-fetched as it may see,; after all, the County Councils are unicameral bodies (the word "unicameral" means "uni" - one, "camera" - chamber), and one state has a unicameral legislature as well - Nebraska.

What are some advantages of a unicameral system? For one thing, it's cheaper, as there are fewer members. It's a lot more streamlined. A bill simply has to pass the unicameral, and it becomes law - no crossover, no negotiation with another house. It may be argued that sometimes bills can pass too quickly - there's no time for the deliberation that naturally occurs when a bill has to be scrutinized by two houses - although Nebraska states that because it requires at least 5 days between a bill's introduction and its passage, it has built in time for the necessary deliberation. However, compare that to the Hawai`i system, where bills typically take several months to pass. Is 5 days enough time?

Here's a link to the history of the Nebraska Unicameral:
http://nebraskalegislature.gov/web/public/history