President Carter Calls The US An Oligarchy
http://www.inquisitr.com/2850287/president-jimmy-carter-speaks-out-calls-the-u-s-an-oligarchy/President Jimmy Carter says America, a once-free nation, is now an oligarchy, and that’s not just his opinion. It is provable, and backed up by the research of top political experts and scholars. An oligarchy is a government run by a small group of wealthy and influential people, rather than the majority. A Princeton University study, Affluence & Influence, by Martin Gilens, backs up former president Carter’s oligarchy statement about unlimited money in politics, such as allowed by Citizens United, upheld by the Supreme Court, as reported on Your News Wire.
“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 to elect the president. And the same thing applies to governors and U.S. senators and congress members.”
Jimmy Carter
Martin Gilens’ book introduction begins with a quote by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
“We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we cannot have both.”
President Jimmy Carter is simply re-framing Gilen’s study, and putting it in terms that relate to the current situation. As Professor Gilens explains in the description of his book, those with money are the ones who influence politics, law making and government policy.
“Can a country be a democracy if its government only responds to the preferences of the rich? In an ideal democracy, all citizens should have equal influence on government policy–but as this book demonstrates, America’s policymakers respond almost exclusively to the preferences of the economically advantaged.”
President Jimmy Carter is taking a stand against oligarchy made possible by large corporate and individual campaign contributions, which he says are allowing undue influence for the rich, and subverting the rights of ordinary Americans.
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Thank you Jimmah...
(PS - I bet there was no stinking Corporate Oligarchical, Inc. GMO glyphosate crap in Billy Beer).
That's why he insists he is "self funding" his campaign as if he is elected the big donors and the lobbyists will not be able to control him as they do many members of Congress. Unfortunately Trump may actually be a con man and if elected will make little effort to address this issue. Most congressmen obey the orders of those who have bought and own them.
We need to face the fact that those we elect and send to Washington D.C. do not represent us. How we can once again become a well functioning representative democracy rather than an oligarchy is the question.
If we ever want to rebuild the middle class we have to find a way to get Big Money out of politics. If we don't the rich will continue to get richer, the poor poorer and the middle class we approach extinction.
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