Six related headlines.
Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy (TalkingPointsMemo)
Using data drawn from over 1,800 different policy initiatives from 1981 to 2002, the two conclude that rich, well-connected individuals on the political scene now steer the direction of the country, regardless of or even against the will of the majority of voters.
Russia Declares US An Oligarchy, Warns Constitutional Republic Is Dead (WhatDoesItMean)
What this past week’s US election shows, however, the MoFA in this report says, are that all of the Republican and Democratic Party candidates for office (Federal and State) were funded by just forty-two people who were responsible for nearly a third of Super PAC monies raised, and only 666,773 wealthy individuals out of a nation having a population of over 319 million.
Scholar Behind Viral ‘Oligarchy' Study Tells You What It Means (TalkingPointsMemo)
I'd say that contrary to what decades of political science research might lead you to believe, ordinary citizens have virtually no influence over what their government does in the United States.
Sen. Bernie Sanders: The United States is on the Verge of Becoming an Oligarchy (DemocracyNow!)
Sanders says. “I fear that we may be on the verge of becoming an oligarchic form of society where a handful of billionaires control not just the economy, but the political life of this country. And that’s just something we’re going to have wrestle with.”
Economic Elite Domination and Biased Pluralism are the predominant characteristics of actual policy and spending outcomes orchestrated by the US Federal Government (Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary).
Who's Buying the Midterm Elections? A Bunch of Old White Guys (Truth-Out)
As Jelani Cobb writes in The New Yorker, the midterm elections won’t right this imbalance between demographics and political representation, no matter which party wins the Senate.
Phi Beta Iota: The US is an oligarchy that leverages a totally corrupt two-party tyranny to block Independents and the other six accredited parties from political participation.
See Especially:
Graphic: Preconditions of Revolution in the USA Today
How I Tested the Boundaries of the Two-Party Tyranny (Reality Sandwich)
Review: Grand Illusion–The Myth of Voter Choice in a Two-Party Tyranny
See Also:
We the People Reform Coalition / Electoral Reform
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Corruption 2.0
Worth a Look: Book Reviews on Democracy Lost & Found
