Report- USA is now an oligarchy.

[emilynghiem]

the real power and key to equality is
who owns land and property
and knows how to run businesses, schools and services
where people can manage programs locally without relying on govt.

If people have equal access to buy out land to incorporate their own cities or states,
now THAT's equal power. Anything less is unequal to those with this knowledge
and experience. That is how unequal we are, and how unequal humanity has always been.

The US is dominated by a rich and powerful elite.

So concludes a recent study by Princeton University Prof Martin Gilens and Northwestern University Prof Benjamin I Page.

This is not news, you say.

Perhaps, but the two professors have conducted exhaustive research to try to present data-driven support for this conclusion. Here's how they explain it:

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.

The two professors came to this conclusion after reviewing answers to 1,779 survey questions asked between 1981 and 2002 on public policy issues. They broke the responses down by income level, and then determined how often certain income levels and organised interest groups saw their policy preferences enacted.

"A proposed policy change with low support among economically elite Americans (one-out-of-five in favour) is adopted only about 18% of the time," they write, "while a proposed change with high support (four-out-of-five in favour) is adopted about 45% of the time."

On the other hand:

When a majority of citizens disagrees with economic elites and/or with organised interests, they generally lose. Moreover, because of the strong status quo bias built into the US political system, even when fairly large majorities of Americans favour policy change, they generally do not get it.

They conclude:

Americans do enjoy many features central to democratic governance, such as regular elections, freedom of speech and association and a widespread (if still contested) franchise. But we believe that if policymaking is dominated by powerful business organisations and a small number of affluent Americans, then America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened.

Eric Zuess, writing in Counterpunch, isn't surprised by the survey's results.

"American democracy is a sham, no matter how much it's pumped by the oligarchs who run the country (and who control the nation's "news" media)," he writes. "The US, in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious 'electoral' 'democratic' countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now."

This is the "Duh Report", says Death and Taxes magazine's Robyn Pennacchia. Maybe, she writes, Americans should just accept their fate.

"Perhaps we ought to suck it up, admit we have a classist society and do like England where we have a House of Lords and a House of Commoners," she writes, "instead of pretending as though we all have some kind of equal opportunity here."

BBC News - Study: US is an oligarchy, not a democracy

Great job, Pubs and hater dupes! See sig pp 1.

 

[francoHFW]

When one segment of society triples their wealth or more while the rest and the country go to hell, they are not being taxed enough...if you count ALL taxes, everyone pays 21% except the poorest fifth, who pay 16%...not the bs dupes believe...

 

[The2ndAmendment]

Conservatives have no counter argument to this study because they know it's true, they just have the inexplicable opinion that billionaires have our best interests at heart.

...

Why would conservatives argue against something that is true and has been true for several decades?

Notice that it came to full fruition under Obama.

And yet you're supporting BLM pointing guns in Americans faces in order to establish a Feudalistic Society.

 

[guno]

What a crock of left wing shit propagated to us by a left wing homo propagandist poster! A blog from across the ocean opines about the opinions of a few insulated whities who apparently oppose capitalism and we're supposed to believe it?
We live in a dictatorship that confiscates half the wealth and manipulates the energy market in order to control the weak-minded and maintain a power base.

 

[whitehall]

When one segment of society triples their wealth or more while the rest and the country go to hell, they are not being taxed enough...if you count ALL taxes, everyone pays 21% except the poorest fifth, who pay 16%...not the bs dupes believe...

When the government dictates the price of energy and takes control over every aspect of the manufacture and distribution of goods and services it's called "fascism". Fascism is the enemy of society not corporations.

 

[occupied]

Conservatives have no counter argument to this study because they know it's true, they just have the inexplicable opinion that billionaires have our best interests at heart.

Sure I do. Put the feds back into the constitutional box and you take away their ability to peddle their influence. As long as there is no limit to federal powers there is no limit how that power may be influenced by money. The founders got it right, we just fucked it up.

The federal government, thanks to the case law that you would discard is the only entity powerful enough to prevent a billionaire from becoming a Bond villain bent on global domination. Perhaps it's fanciful but how do you charge a billionaire with a crime and make it stick? It has to be federal charges, no other way.

 

[CaféAuLait]

Hitler and the Japanese militarists would never have happened without the Great Depression, caused by Pubs- who also led the isolationists who wrecked the League of Nations and allowed Hitler and the Japs to run wild until they finally attacked us...same economic chaos W Bush gave us that gives us so much chaos today...see jihadists and Ukraine, Egypt, Tunisia, etc etc etc...US lol. Pubs suq- ie, greedy megarich swine. Not you lol.

Ya, know you can keep blaming the 'pubs' without knowing that WW1, under a Democrat BTW was a major impetus for the great depression. WWI weakened the entire world and the ability to respond to a major crisis. So did Britain's decision regarding the Gold Standard change by 1925 to prewar parity, such had an affect on our economy as well. Under consumption and overinvestment lead to the bubble which caused the Crash of 29. Additionally, the relatively new FED Reserve decision on how to respond lengthened the depression as well.

The Depression was the fault of many factors coming together to create the perfect storm. Just because there was a repub at the helm it does not make it a repub issue.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Nothing about the constitution outlaws taxing the bloated rich their fair share or investing in the regular people...

Many thanks to Pubs for starting the great depression that gave us Hitler, and left France alone to fight him, dingbat...

So I'm guessing Lead Paint Chip Breakfast Cereal has you as their product tester

 

[Missourian]

The topic is oligarchy and what if anything we should do about it. Rather than default to a standard teardown of the welfare state how about you rub a couple of brain cells together and tell us how you can be so pro oligarchy and so anti government? You know the government and economy is essentially controlled by the super rich for their personal interests and yet hate the slim little part of it that must be maintained to continue the illusion of democracy.

In other words, you do nothing but bitch about how somebody else owes you some of theirs...got it.

In reply, first - that Franco and a couple of professors who started with a conclusion and then gathered some "facts" to support it make a claim doesn't make it true.

Second, your idea of being "pro-oligarchy" is saying that a "fair share" of taxes is the same percentage paid by everyone.

That's a radical "pro-oligarchical" position, according to you...and yet it is already a HUGE concession.

A true "fair share" would be to divide the U.S. budget by the population and every citizen would pay that amount.

THAT, my friend, is a true fair share.

Argue with that.

Explain why some citizens should be required to pay more, while others, instead of sending in a check, GET a check culled from the funds of every tax payer.

The so-called "flat tax" is another conservative idea that is a big giant gift to the super-rich and a giant ass-raping for the rest of us. why do you think they need more money and the working poor less? Do you even really think about your opinions?

My opinions are irrelevant, fair is fair.

Words have meanings...if you want fair, I just gave you the ABSOLUTELY most FAIR distribution of taxation.

How you feel about that is inconsequential to the FACT that it is indeed the most fair method.

That you FEEL that folks who earn more deserve to pay more is also irrelevant.

If you had to actually PAY some taxes, you would feel differently...and that my friend is exactly the point.

Whoever concocted the idea of taking taxes out of paychecks before the check earner ever saw it ENSURED this big spending, big government fiasco that we are all living under.

Everyone needs some skin in the game, or the spending of government isn't real to them.

Why SHOULDN'T you vote for more welfare, bike lanes, a new pool complex, more foodstamps, more and bigger government...it isn't costing YOU anything...YOU don't see a bigger tax bill at the end of the year.

So what if the government wastes billions of dollars, pays folks to do nothing but write reports no one ever reads...it doesn't cost YOU one thin dime...the rich, you say, aren't paying their "fair share", while conversely, YOUR "fair share" is ZERO.

Less that zero, a negative number!

So please, give me a break.

You want more money for welfare, cut some other spending.

Reduce the size of government.

Last year the government took in almost 3 trillion dollars in revenue.

The population is like 330 million.

That's more than $8,300 for every man, woman and child in the country.

Cut some spending man.

If you had to cut a check at the end of the year for eight grand, you'd be all about cutting, because it would be taking money out of YOUR pocket.

THAT's why I favor a REAL fair tax.

Everyone has skin in the game.

 

[OKTexas]

Conservatives have no counter argument to this study because they know it's true, they just have the inexplicable opinion that billionaires have our best interests at heart.

Sure I do. Put the feds back into the constitutional box and you take away their ability to peddle their influence. As long as there is no limit to federal powers there is no limit how that power may be influenced by money. The founders got it right, we just fucked it up.

The federal government, thanks to the case law that you would discard is the only entity powerful enough to prevent a billionaire from becoming a Bond villain bent on global domination. Perhaps it's fanciful but how do you charge a billionaire with a crime and make it stick? It has to be federal charges, no other way.

God, what a fantasy life you must lead. Tons of very wealthy people have been successfully prosecuted by the states.

 

[francoHFW]

Hitler and the Japanese militarists would never have happened without the Great Depression, caused by Pubs- who also led the isolationists who wrecked the League of Nations and allowed Hitler and the Japs to run wild until they finally attacked us...same economic chaos W Bush gave us that gives us so much chaos today...see jihadists and Ukraine, Egypt, Tunisia, etc etc etc...US lol. Pubs suq- ie, greedy megarich swine. Not you lol.

Ya, know you can keep blaming the 'pubs' without knowing that WW1, under a Democrat BTW was a major impetus for the great depression. WWI weakened the entire world and the ability to respond to a major crisis. So did Britain's decision regarding the Gold Standard change by 1925 to prewar parity, such had an affect on our economy as well. Under consumption and overinvestment lead to the bubble which caused the Crash of 29. Additionally, the relatively new FED Reserve decision on how to respond lengthened the depression as well.

The Depression was the fault of many factors coming together to create the perfect storm. Just because there was a repub at the helm it does not make it a repub issue.

Same double talking bs the dupes use to excuse W and the Booshies this time around...It was Pubs and their cronies' regulation- see a huge bubble based on 10% margins- that wrecked the world that time...9 years of Pubs. WWI? Come on...

 

[CaféAuLait]

Hitler and the Japanese militarists would never have happened without the Great Depression, caused by Pubs- who also led the isolationists who wrecked the League of Nations and allowed Hitler and the Japs to run wild until they finally attacked us...same economic chaos W Bush gave us that gives us so much chaos today...see jihadists and Ukraine, Egypt, Tunisia, etc etc etc...US lol. Pubs suq- ie, greedy megarich swine. Not you lol.

Ya, know you can keep blaming the 'pubs' without knowing that WW1, under a Democrat BTW was a major impetus for the great depression. WWI weakened the entire world and the ability to respond to a major crisis. So did Britain's decision regarding the Gold Standard change by 1925 to prewar parity, such had an affect on our economy as well. Under consumption and overinvestment lead to the bubble which caused the Crash of 29. Additionally, the relatively new FED Reserve decision on how to respond lengthened the depression as well.

The Depression was the fault of many factors coming together to create the perfect storm. Just because there was a repub at the helm it does not make it a repub issue.

Same double talking bs the dupes use to excuse W and the Booshies this time around...It was Pubs and their cronies' regulation- see a huge bubble based on 10% margins- that wrecked the world that time...9 years of Pubs. WWI? Come on...

History, read it.

 

[francoHFW]

Nothing about the constitution outlaws taxing the bloated rich their fair share or investing in the regular people...

Many thanks to Pubs for starting the great depression that gave us Hitler, and left France alone to fight him, dingbat...

So I'm guessing Lead Paint Chip Breakfast Cereal has you as their product tester

I've got a Master's in world history, lots of Hitler and France stuff..you?

 

[Missourian]

Nothing about the constitution outlaws taxing the bloated rich their fair share or investing in the regular people...

Many thanks to Pubs for starting the great depression that gave us Hitler, and left France alone to fight him, dingbat...

So I'm guessing Lead Paint Chip Breakfast Cereal has you as their product tester

I've got a Master's in world history, lots of Hitler and France stuff..you?

"lots of Hitler and France stuff..."

Master of bullshit.

 

[francoHFW]

Any actual argument, chump? lol

 

[Missourian]

Any actual argument, chump? lol

About Hitler?

Sure.

My understanding was that after WWI, the conditions of the treaty of versailles were so draconian in regards to restitution for war debts incurred by the Allies that it pushed the German economy into hyper-inflation...the anecdote was it was warmer to burn the money than the amount of wood it would purchase.

That military defeat, the humiliation and ignominy of heavy handed post war revenge, and the hyper-inflation and it's aftermath set the stage for the rise of the National Socialists and Hitler.

 

[francoHFW]

ACTUALLY, the German economy recovered from that, and was ruined again by the first Pub Great Depression...then Hitler took advantage of the chaos and desperation...


The French were just as screwed by the reparations of the Franco-Prussion War, but got down to business and paid it off

 

[francoHFW]

Hitler tried to have a coup in 1923 in Munich- that's how he ended up in prison and wrote Mein Kampf...

 

[Missourian]

ACTUALLY, the German economy recovered from that, and was ruined again by the first Pub Great Depression...then Hitler took advantage of the chaos and desperation...


The French were just as screwed by the reparations of the Franco-Prussion War, but got down to business and paid it off

Millions, Billions, Trillions: Germany in the Era of Hyperinflation - SPIEGEL ONLINE

 

[francoHFW]

As I said, they recovered from that...