<p>Although I agree that some questions seem to be closed overzealously, I don't see the need for all the extra debate. Do you really want to spend all that time arguing over the detailed merits of questions? Coming to a consensus sounds like the ultimate committee nightmare. A simple vote makes your opinion known concisely and with the minimum of fuss. If the majority of the community agrees, your opinion will stand.</p>

<p>The one <strong>simple</strong> change that I think would dramatically improve the open/close system is having a <a href="http://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/125/how-about-a-vote-not-to-close-option-to-counter-the-vote-to-close">vote not to close option</a>, rather than waiting to reopen, to avoid the close-reopen asymmetry. See that link for the detailed discussion.</p>

<p>You are also suggesting providing much more power to lower rep users, which I think is a completely separate point. In my opinion though, the ability thresholds are there for a reason, and work pretty well, for the most part. </p>