Well, Joe plebe did elect Trump, it is not like Trump said, "Hey I have money, I want to be president, so it will happen.' Also, the rich do not like to increase the minimum wage. That would mean the minimum wage increase would not happen had the rich had such power as you describe, but prop 206 went through in Arizona. The rich usually do not want government interference in healthcare but Obama ram rodded the ACA through. There are many things the rich want but it doesn't mean they get them.
No offense, but you really do sound like those leftist extremists who think that behind the government, a bunch of rich, white folks, secretly rubbing their hands with evil intent, are running the show when that simply isn't true. Yes they have more influence than the common Joe but no where near as much as you would believe.
Well, everyone lives in his own bubble, me included. But when you look at all the shit that has been uncovered in the last 70 years, from 1945 up to this day, is it really THAT(!) unthinkable that you have think tanks out there with the intention to try any form of influence that is possible? There have been whole organisations created with only one intention, to 'sell' neo-liberal ideas to the popoulation. We have those even in Germany, and they also have such catchy names like The New Social Market, throwing bullshit around and funding stupid studies. But when you look at who's financing it, you will often find large corporations behind it for example.
I am not saying rich People = Illuminaty. But money, simply buys you votes. That is not ALWAYS true, but it certainly isn't that wrong either. Beacuse this has a lot to do with air time, marketing, surveys etc. And that's not everything. We're not just talking about votes, that's just the surface, beacuse you can not controll the population. Not with just throwing money at it. But you can controll politicans. Why do so many people hate lobbyism? Sure not just because of the name. Corruption has become a serious threat to democracy in the last decades. And to denny that, is naive if not outright dangerous. Where is all this resentment against Washington and the elites coming from? Beacuse people very well realize, that it is about money these days, not about who votes what.
To Quote Ronald Dworkin:
An example worth mentioning is Public financing of both elections and forums for public political discussion, without which sensible public politics is unlikely to flourish. When politicians are beholden to their constituents for essential campaign funds, and a very unequal distribution of income and wealth obtains in the background culture, with the great wealth being in the control of corporate economic power, is it any wonder that congressional legislation is, in effect, written by lobbyists, and Congress becomes a bargaining chamber in which laws are bought and sold? “
Or let us look at what Jimmy Carter said about it:
“It violates the essence of what made America a great country in its political system. Now it’s just an oligarchy with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nominations for president or being elected president. And the same thing applies to governors, and U.S. Senators and congress members. So, now we’ve just seen a subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors, who want and expect, and sometimes get, favors for themselves after the election is over. ... At the present time the incumbents, Democrats and Republicans, look upon this unlimited money as a great benefit to themselves. Somebody that is already in Congress has a great deal moreto sell.”
Ther is also some study about the subject
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organised groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on US government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence.
In English: the wealthy few move policy, while the average American has little power.
I mean seriously, look at the political landscape, where the Democracts and Republicans are now. The Reps are so far on the 'right' side, that you need the 'Democracts' to act as Republicans. It doesn't matter who you vote anymore! As like Hillary that fucked wrench would have been sooooooooo much better than Trump. She's not a Democrat in my opinion. She never was. Sure, she would have been less of a douche and acting more Presidential for what it's worth, but she would have fucked up the American people as well, she is a neo-liberal bitch that sucks on the tits of Wall-Street and Trump isn't much better, as we can see trough his policies, not the buillshit muslim ban and the wall, that's just useless rhetoric. No, the repeal of Healthcare which is one giant tax cut for the rich, the cuting of many social institutions like the idea to remove meals-on-wheels, cuting on EPA so some rich fucks can drill for more oil, more investements to the military, which in the end actually means, more money to military contractors, and not the soldiers. Is that what the American people want? Is that what they REALLY voted for?
Let us say I give you a bucket of bullshit on one side and horseshit on the other. It's a choice, true. But only a cynic would call that a democracy.
I mean seriously now, if even Southpark makes jokes about that ...
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