CSS & Multiple Backgrounds

Wouldn't it make sense for CSS to be able to support multiple backgrounds on the same element? Wouldn't this eliminate the majority of superfluous markup on our pages?

The way I see it working is like this:

elm {
background: url('header.png') repeat-x top left;
background: url('footer.png') repeat-x bottom left;
}

Both rules would be applied. While now they overwrite each other, I think the mechanism for overwriting should be the mere presence of a background colour including the 'transparent' keyword.

elm {
background: url('header.png') repeat-x top left;
background: transparent url('footer.png') repeat-x bottom left;
}

The second rule would overwrite the first.

There may be a better way to implement it, but this is the first any only method that popped into my head, aside from background[] = ..., which would just be crazy.

So what do you all think? Is the general public even able to suggest things like this to the W3C, or what? I just think it makes sense...

You could always use one background on the html element and one on the body element or similar. In CSS3 you can use the ::outside pseudo element specified in CSS3 Generated and Replaced Content Module (http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-content/).

I think ::outside's probably closest to what I'm suggesting, but I think UA's could implement my method far more easily than the ::outside way.

Tasks like the one shown here: http://www.alistapart.com/articles/customcorners2/ would be doable with a single div, and even NO children. Legible markup at last.

I just highly doubt that something like ::outside would be implemented before redefining an already-existing property (background).

One day, maybe... *sigh*