Peer Reviewed Journal says that the US is an Oligarchy, not a Representative Republic

[impalero]

It bears worth repeating that we are supposed to practice Indirect Democracy in this country through Democratically Elected Representatives to represent “We the People” of this country, in accordance with the Constitution.

This is Just to hammer home the point to those that state we are a Republic.
We are no more a pure Republic than we are a pure Democracy.
The Republic of China 1912-1949 did not have democratically elected Representatives for example.

A better term coined by Jonathan Locke from 1632-1704 is a Constitutional Democratic Republic.

What Is a Constitutional Democratic Republic Government?

A constitutional democratic republic government is a state where the office holders are required to govern in accordance with the constitution. These office holders are usually given their mandate through a ballot that is held regularly.

The paper in question is to be published in the peer reviewed academic journal, Perspectives on Politics from Princeton.

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/14

A study, to appear in the Fall 2014 issue of the academic journal Perspectives on Politics, finds that the U.S. is no democracy, but instead an oligarchy, meaning profoundly corrupt, so that the answer to the study’s opening question, "Who governs? Who really rules?" in this country, is:

"Despite the seemingly strong empirical support in previous studies for theories of majoritarian democracy, our analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.

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, ..." and then they go on to say, it's not true, and that, "America's claims to being a democratic society are seriously threatened" by the findings in this, the first-ever comprehensive scientific study of the subject, which shows that there is instead "the nearly total failure of 'median voter' and other Majoritarian Electoral Democracy theories [of America].

When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

What the authors are able to find, despite the deficiencies of the data, is important: the first-ever scientific analysis of whether the U.S. is a democracy, or is instead an oligarchy, or some combination of the two.

The clear finding is that the U.S. is an oligarchy, no democratic country, at all. 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). The U.S., in other words, is basically similar to Russia or most other dubious "electoral" "democratic" countries. We weren't formerly, but we clearly are now.
Today, after this exhaustive analysis of the data, “the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy.” That's it, in a nutshell.

Just think, we escaped from Monarch England to get away from the heavy handed elite only to have the same situation happen again.


I think an excellent and recent example of how policy is drawn up for the wealthy elite is Obamacare

Obamacare was touted as something for the poor and lower class via propaganda but looking at who is at the top of the list when it comes to lobbyists show the reality of the situation. In a time when the common mans wages are stagnating and the price of everything keeps rising thanks to money printing to bail out the banksters, Big Pharma and Insurance do not want to take a paycut and want everyone to pitch in to bail them out as well..for eternity. The cost of healthcare is not even on the radar of the elite, but just who is going to pay for it.

Lobbying Spending Database | OpenSecrets

Pharmaceuticals/Health Products $2,795,596,315
Insurance $1,964,085,236
Electric Utilities $1,836,267,571
Business Associations $1,599,841,724
Computers/Internet $1,539,193,215
Oil & Gas $1,520,091,017
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing $1,279,589,508
Education $1,278,209,819
TV/Movies/Music $1,198,351,376
Hospitals/Nursing Homes $1,185,577,186
Securities & Investment $1,117,167,652
Civil Servants/Public Officials $1,107,964,625
Real Estate $1,085,527,543
Health Professionals $1,062,105,067
Air Transport $999,244,120
Misc Issues $848,711,383
Automotive $806,876,749
Telephone Utilities $781,182,298
Telecom Services & Equipment $772,337,196
Health Services/HMOs $738,746,421


Some questions come to mind for the defenders of our Oligarchy


How do those that support the constitution wherein we are supposed to be a representative republic for all people of this country reconcile the ability of corporations and banks to infringe on others rights to be heard when money= freedom of speech?


Why do some people think that those in the pursuit of wealth and power no matter the cost make good candidates for government positions, by giving them access to other people’s money?




http://i.imgur.com/NK7DDMc.png

 

[georgephillip]

Some people can't imagine a state with a wall of separation between itself and the influence of private money and for very good reason since such a government has never existed.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Why do idiots think that peer reviewed journal is a magical phrase that makes everything true?

 

[georgephillip]

Why do idiots think that peer reviewed journal is a magical phrase that makes everything true?

What if this part is true?

"When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/14

 

[Mac1958]

.

Meh. Call it what you will. Two facts remain:

• Money is polluting and distorting politics, and it's causing us great damage, every single day.
• Of all the most significant problems we face, this would be the easiest to fix, or at least improve.

I remain amazed at how many people still defend this situation.

.

 

[WelfareQueen]

All Governments are oligarchies....almost by definition. What a moron.

 

[impalero]

We are supposed to be a Representative Republic though where the politicians are supposed to be representing all American's, not just the ones able to buy them to do their bidding.

The study clearly shows that they are not representing the common American, even a little bit.

I recall something in our history that was a pretty Big Deal about a Revolution and no Taxation without Representation.

Why am I paying taxes to enrich a bunch of cockroaches?

 

[impalero]

All Governments are oligarchies....almost by definition. What a moron.

You should educate yourself a bit there.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDS1OHk7Lf8]The Five Basic Forms Of Government Explained - YouTube[/ame]

There are 5 basic forms of government which are Monarchy(Rule by one person), Oligarchy(Rule by a small handful of people), Democracy(Rule by majority of the citizens), Republic(Rule by law), and Anarchy(No Government). This video relates these basic forms of government to our American government to clarify that we are in fact not a democracy but rather a Republic since democracies lead to anarchy and ultimately the tyranny of oligarchy.

In essence, you have Republics or Oligarchies

What we are supposed to have is a Constitutional Democratic Republic where all citizens are represented through the ballot box.

Since money=freedom of speech, it has turned over our country into an Oligarch where Plutocrats call the shots.

 

[WelfareQueen]

We are supposed to be a Representative Republic though where the politicians are supposed to be representing all American's, not just the ones able to buy them to do their bidding.

The study clearly shows that they are not representing the common American, even a little bit.

I recall something in our history that was a pretty Big Deal about a Revolution and no Taxation without Representation.

Why am I paying taxes to enrich a bunch of cockroaches?

You mean the Representative Republic founded by rich white men? The Republic that only allowed propertied white men to vote?

Hint: That's a oligarchy. It's always been about money.

 

[Decus]

Removing or at the very least diminishing lobbying and the influence industries, unions and other special interest groups can have on legislation is desirable.

If however we continue to believe that the purpose of business is to make a profit and that publicly traded companies have a responsibility to provide a return to shareholders, than surveys such as this should not come as a surprise, nor should it be viewed as an example of collusion.

I can understand that macroeconomic drivers for a healthy economy should be understood by those most likely to invest in the economy and the politicians charged with legislating on behalf of a sound economy. This survey's sample is also rather small and apart from the fact that the results have been sensationalized to feed a growing conviction that the bankers control everything, not much can really be proven on the basis of this paper.

.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Why do idiots think that peer reviewed journal is a magical phrase that makes everything true?

What if this part is true?

"When the preferences of economic elites and the stands of organized interest groups are controlled for, the preferences of the average American appear to have only a minuscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."

https://www.commondreams.org/view/2014/04/14

We could solve that by restricting government to only do certain things. Unfortunately, there are a bunch of idiots, like you, that believe that government needs to regulate everything, which is why we are headed to a system where individuals have no say in government. Perhaps you should consider coming over to the Rebellion instead of defending the Empire.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

.

Meh. Call it what you will. Two facts remain:

• Money is polluting and distorting politics, and it's causing us great damage, every single day.
• Of all the most significant problems we face, this would be the easiest to fix, or at least improve.

I remain amazed at how many people still defend this situation.

.

I am amazed at how many people ignore the facts and insist that the problem is money, not government.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

We are supposed to be a Representative Republic though where the politicians are supposed to be representing all American's, not just the ones able to buy them to do their bidding.

The study clearly shows that they are not representing the common American, even a little bit.

I recall something in our history that was a pretty Big Deal about a Revolution and no Taxation without Representation.

Why am I paying taxes to enrich a bunch of cockroaches?

Th study clearly shows that? Seriously? Maybe you should read it before you assume that the idiot that wrote about it is accurately reporting what the study actually shows.

Abstract​

Each of four theoretical traditions in the study of American politics – which can be characterized as theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic Elite Domination, and two types of interest group pluralism, Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism – offers different predictions about which sets of actors have how much influence over public policy: average citizens; economic elites; and organized interest groups, mass-based or business-oriented. A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. This paper reports on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues.
Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.

In other words, the study is a way to to compare different theories using a single statistical model. It actually doesn't conclude that any one model is right, or even that the ones that don't fit the analysis are wrong. It is nothing more than a first step along the road to actually turning sociology from an art to a real science.

By the way, Perspectives on Politics isn't a peer reviewed journal either.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

All Governments are oligarchies....almost by definition. What a moron.

You should educate yourself a bit there.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDS1OHk7Lf8"]The Five Basic Forms Of Government Explained - YouTube[/ame]

There are 5 basic forms of government which are Monarchy(Rule by one person), Oligarchy(Rule by a small handful of people), Democracy(Rule by majority of the citizens), Republic(Rule by law), and Anarchy(No Government). This video relates these basic forms of government to our American government to clarify that we are in fact not a democracy but rather a Republic since democracies lead to anarchy and ultimately the tyranny of oligarchy.

In essence, you have Republics or Oligarchies

What we are supposed to have is a Constitutional Democratic Republic where all citizens are represented through the ballot box.

Since money=freedom of speech, it has turned over our country into an Oligarch where Plutocrats call the shots.

If money is the problem why are politicians trying to make it harder for people to spend their money on elections?

 

[Darkwind]

You know, if we restrict the power that the Federal Government can exercise, then it will not matter one whit how much money the wealthy throw at politicians. If they are forbidden from doing anything that is not authorized by the Constitution, then you could throw the entire sum of all the worlds currency at a politician and they would not be permitted to do anything that was outside the enumerated responsibilities of government.

Oh...wait.....We are supposed to have that already, but there are people who want to make laws based on 'whats good for some people', rather than was it good for ALL the people....

Never mind....

 

[Wry Catcher]

.

Meh. Call it what you will. Two facts remain:

• Money is polluting and distorting politics, and it's causing us great damage, every single day.
• Of all the most significant problems we face, this would be the easiest to fix, or at least improve.

I remain amazed at how many people still defend this situation.

.

Amazed? Not me. Ever since FDR put the common man's rights on par with the power elite the Republican Party has tried to go back in time to the gilded age. The current plan was for the Republicans to pack the court, overturn the liberal rulings of the Warren Court and make sure future laws benefited the few and not the many.

Hence, we have seen lady justice unmasked, under Rehnquist we had the Supreme Injustice, putting G. W. Bush into the Oval Office; later, under Roberts we have seen CU v. FEC and now McCutcheon v FEC with those and other 5-4 decisions giving a greater voice to the power elite than the vast majority of us ordinary citizens.

Using unlimited anonymous money the vast right wing conspiracy is able to fill the air ways with lies, half-truths, innuendos, rumors and all forms of calumny to win the hearts and minds of voters who will only suffer under their 'leadership". Propaganda is the bane of democracy when there is no educated population, and too many are easily fooled by charlatans and demagogues; bribes then become fatal poison of republicanism (representative democracy). When the COTUS is comprised by a partisan majority, Mr. Franklin's comment seems prescient: "You have been given a republic, if you can keep it". We have not and that is on all of us.

 

[flacaltenn]

About this OP:::::::

If the Feds STUCK to their mandated powers, there would be virtually no government/corporate collusion or oligarchy.. Subsidies, contracts, loans, and favorable regulations COULD NOT BE THE CURRENCY of the realm.. Don't blame corporations for suckling up to the money machine.. Fix the goddamn cash dispenser.

BOTH sides of the spectrum agree. Not just cutting subsidies for crap that already exist -- take away the ABILITY to subsidize stuff that is already commercially available..

Problem solved.. Representative Democracy retrieved from the toilet of Oligarchy..

NEXT !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mac1958]

.

Meh. Call it what you will. Two facts remain:

• Money is polluting and distorting politics, and it's causing us great damage, every single day.
• Of all the most significant problems we face, this would be the easiest to fix, or at least improve.

I remain amazed at how many people still defend this situation.

.

I am amazed at how many people ignore the facts and insist that the problem is money, not government.

The two are tied together inextricably, they're symbiotic, they feed off each other, and that's the problem.

It couldn't be more obvious, and they're doing it right in front of our noses.

.

 

[impalero]

About this OP:::::::

If the Feds STUCK to their mandated powers, there would be virtually no government/corporate collusion or oligarchy.. Subsidies, contracts, loans, and favorable regulations COULD NOT BE THE CURRENCY of the realm.. Don't blame corporations for suckling up to the money machine.. Fix the goddamn cash dispenser.

The problem flacaltenn is that you are looking at the Large Corporations, Banks and Feds as separate entities.

Washington DC, Some of the Largest Multinational Corporations and Wall Street Banks exist in a revolving door where they scratch each others backs.

Go into politics and you will have a nice cushy job back in our company when you are done.
From Washington to Corporate Lobbyist or Nice Cushy Corporate Job.

I don't look at either of these entities as innocent while the majority of the nation ends up paying the price that do not have the political nor monetary power to buy their own politicians.


Here are your politicians:

Windfalls for Wall Street Executives Taking Jobs in Government
Windfalls for Wall Street Executives Taking Jobs in Government

People usually say they go into government to perform public service. If they came from Wall Street, however, their former employers often provide another service.

Banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, all have provisions that allow acceleration of payments owed to senior executives if they take government jobs, a new study finds.

Such a benefit was highlighted recently during the confirmation hearing for Jacob J. Lew as Treasury secretary. His previous employer, Citigroup, had guaranteed him preferential financial treatment if he were to leave to take a job in the government. When Mr. Lew left Citigroup he held stock that he could not immediately cash worth as much as $500,000, according to a government filing.

"These companies seem to be giving a special deal to executives who become government officials," says the study, to be released Thursday by the Project on Government Oversight. "In exchange, the companies may end up with friends in high places who understand their business, sympathize with it, and can craft policies in its favor."

Everything is rigged to benefit the elite and the expense to everyone else in this country.
Insider Trading, Money Laundering, Racketeering and so on all legal for the elite.


The revolving door between Congress and K Street is moving faster than ever

The revolving door between Congress and K Street is moving faster than ever
Lobbying — both in terms of the raw number of people doing it and the money being spent on it — is soaring. According to a new study by the Sunlight Foundation, lobbying revenue almost doubled between 1998-2012, reaching more than $1 billion by the end of that period.

That's nothing new. But what is new — and telling — to us is that so much of the growth in the lobbying world comes from people with past experience working within the federal government.

Insiders Tell All: Both the Stock Market and the SEC Are Rigged


Insiders Tell All: Both the Stock Market and the SEC Are Rigged

Since bestselling author Michael Lewis appeared on 60 Minutes on March 30 to promote his new book, “Flash Boys,” and explained how the U.S. stock market is rigged; and Brad Katsuyama, the head of IEX, an electronic trading platform who plays a central role in the Lewis book, did the same on CNBC a few days later, the debate has gone viral.

But Lewis and Katsuyama were not the first to blow the whistle on rigged U.S. stock markets. Sal Arnuk and Joseph Saluzzi, Wall Street insiders and co-founders of Themis Trading LLC literally wrote the book on “Broken Markets” in 2012 and have been exposing details of the rigging on their blog ever since.

Wall Street Journal reporter, Scott Patterson, mapped out the exotic and corrupt order types permitted by the stock exchanges to fleece the little guy in his 2012 book, “Dark Pools,” which follows the trading career of Haim Bodek, who has set up his own web site to blow the whistle on just how badly the stock market is rigged.

 

[flacaltenn]

About this OP:::::::

If the Feds STUCK to their mandated powers, there would be virtually no government/corporate collusion or oligarchy.. Subsidies, contracts, loans, and favorable regulations COULD NOT BE THE CURRENCY of the realm.. Don't blame corporations for suckling up to the money machine.. Fix the goddamn cash dispenser.

The problem flacaltenn is that you are looking at the Large Corporations, Banks and Feds as separate entities.

Washington DC, Some of the Largest Multinational Corporations and Wall Street Banks exist in a revolving door where they scratch each others backs.

Go into politics and you will have a nice cushy job back in our company when you are done.
From Washington to Corporate Lobbyist or Nice Cushy Corporate Job.

I don't look at either of these entities as innocent while the majority of the nation ends up paying the price that do not have the political nor monetary power to buy their own politicians.


Here are your politicians:

Windfalls for Wall Street Executives Taking Jobs in Government
Windfalls for Wall Street Executives Taking Jobs in Government

People usually say they go into government to perform public service. If they came from Wall Street, however, their former employers often provide another service.

Banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, all have provisions that allow acceleration of payments owed to senior executives if they take government jobs, a new study finds.

Such a benefit was highlighted recently during the confirmation hearing for Jacob J. Lew as Treasury secretary. His previous employer, Citigroup, had guaranteed him preferential financial treatment if he were to leave to take a job in the government. When Mr. Lew left Citigroup he held stock that he could not immediately cash worth as much as $500,000, according to a government filing.

"These companies seem to be giving a special deal to executives who become government officials," says the study, to be released Thursday by the Project on Government Oversight. "In exchange, the companies may end up with friends in high places who understand their business, sympathize with it, and can craft policies in its favor."

Everything is rigged to benefit the elite and the expense to everyone else in this country.
Insider Trading, Money Laundering, Racketeering and so on all legal for the elite.


The revolving door between Congress and K Street is moving faster than ever

The revolving door between Congress and K Street is moving faster than ever
Lobbying — both in terms of the raw number of people doing it and the money being spent on it — is soaring. According to a new study by the Sunlight Foundation, lobbying revenue almost doubled between 1998-2012, reaching more than $1 billion by the end of that period.

That's nothing new. But what is new — and telling — to us is that so much of the growth in the lobbying world comes from people with past experience working within the federal government.

Insiders Tell All: Both the Stock Market and the SEC Are Rigged


Insiders Tell All: Both the Stock Market and the SEC Are Rigged

Since bestselling author Michael Lewis appeared on 60 Minutes on March 30 to promote his new book, “Flash Boys,” and explained how the U.S. stock market is rigged; and Brad Katsuyama, the head of IEX, an electronic trading platform who plays a central role in the Lewis book, did the same on CNBC a few days later, the debate has gone viral.

But Lewis and Katsuyama were not the first to blow the whistle on rigged U.S. stock markets. Sal Arnuk and Joseph Saluzzi, Wall Street insiders and co-founders of Themis Trading LLC literally wrote the book on “Broken Markets” in 2012 and have been exposing details of the rigging on their blog ever since.

Wall Street Journal reporter, Scott Patterson, mapped out the exotic and corrupt order types permitted by the stock exchanges to fleece the little guy in his 2012 book, “Dark Pools,” which follows the trading career of Haim Bodek, who has set up his own web site to blow the whistle on just how badly the stock market is rigged.

THere can be any number of incentuous relationships between private banks and private corporations and this problem STILL doesn't exist. You end the cash machine for GOVT loans and subsidies, and shut down MOST of the Commerce Dept which is there to promote CORPORATE interests -- and K street will become a cherry tree mall..

It's undeniable that corporations and govt are having coitus reguarly and THAT is the issue. Not the money --- but the POWER to pick winners/losers and give steroidal injections of cash from the Public coffer. Make the corporations WILD again and they will stop tipping your garbage cans in the middle of the night..