Question

This multimedia deals with the issue of growing economic inequality in the US. There are three parts to it. (Due Sept 9th) The first link shows that what we believe our economic reality to be is far from accurate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM This second link provides some important information about just how many of us are actually donating to political campaigns. http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/donordemographics.php. The third link deals with who makes the laws governing this country, and why. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tu32CCA_Ig In one, single-spaced page, summarize what you've learned and draw some conclusions about what your insights might mean for democracy.

Answer 1

America is considered as the richest country in the world but not all Americans are equally rich. The top 1% controls almost 40% of the wealth and the top ten controls almost 60% of the wealth. There are 40 % of people who share 0.5% of the wealth. This shocking wealth distribution brings out the real face of capitalism in a republic country. This wealth distribution causes lots of other problems in the society which is reflected even in the election campaigns.

Although there is a minor group of people who donate to the political parties or their candidates, most of these donors are from the first 10 percentage who would like to be in the good books of the politicians thus forcing them to frame laws that would later benefit them. Although political camp donations are common in most of the countries, there is a chance that they might corrupt the politicians and enact laws that would favor them.

This leads to the next stage of what will become a law in a country where the politicians receive huge money for their political campaigns. It’s not what the majority wants to become a law but it’s the elite who influence the government that decides what will become laws. Some laws would come into existence even if they have 30% support and some laws wouldn’t come into law even if it has 100% support. It’s this corrupt state that makes it worse in a democratic country a fair play.

It’s very sad that capitalism and the corrupt politicians in this country has sacrificed the middle class and the poor for their personal gains. Democracy is supposed to be by the people, for the people and of the people but today democracy is as sick as the policies of the selfish politicians and the greedy business people who run the show in this country. Things are only going to get worse in the future as there would be no one even to fight against this inequality.