Coming into this week, we had several readings that dealt with and discussed the various aspects to the U.S. government, and social/economic classes. I'd like to tie this article in with my post from last week.
To start off, let's throw some numbers around. It's astonishing to me that the U.S.'s law makers on Capital Hill are all worth at least $1,000,000 in addition to the 534 members of congress who average a net worth of over $1,000,000 as well from 2012 statistics, which is an increase from the previous year! So while the middle classes median line is reducing, the 1% has seen an increase in income. Why do they need more money while the average american - and majority too might I add - is struggling to keep up? From 1998 to 2008, the median income went from $33,400 to $33,000 (not the most significant decrease for ten years, but with inflation and the market, makes a large difference, whereas the top 1% saw a 33% increase!
This completely relates to our discussion and readings about representation. How are these law makers and politicians representing the majority? Is this true democracy? I think not. They pay to benefit themselves, not the majority. The middle class is the majority being 79% of our country. It seems as if the government is in it for the money, pay and you'll get what you want. Large corporations are the most popularly invested into by the government employees. It's a cycle of money, where everyone in D.C. wants to win.
To add in a few definitions for clarification, I decided to do some research on Democracy and Representation. Here are my findings, thanks to www.merriam-webster.com.
Representation:
F A person or group that speaks or acts for or in support of another person or group
One that represents as
T A statement or account made to influence opinion or action, an incidental or collateral statement of fact on the faith of which a contract is entered into
A usually formal statement made against something or to effect a change
T The act or action of representing: the state of being represented
F The act of fact of one person standing for another so as to have the rights and obligations of the person represented, the substitution of an individual or class in place of a person
T The action of representing or the fact of being represented esp in a legislative body
Democracy:
T A form of government in which people choose leaders by voting
T A country ruled by democracy
F An organization or situation in which everyone is treated equally, and has equal rights
F A government by the people, especially: rule of the majority, a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections
T A political unit has a democratic government
F The common people especially when constituting the source of political authority
T The absence of hereditary or arbitrary class distinctions or privileges
In regards to these definitions, there are areas in which our government 'represents' a democracy, and others where there are large gaps. I marked next to each definition my perspective of how the U.S. government relates to these positions (True/False.) Although they are partly true, it is the larger issues that are false. Yes, one does not inherit being President, but one could inherit his/her fathers/mothers name or wealth which adds favor to them. In addition, it is the problem that our democracy does not accurately and wholly represent the majority as shown in bold above. It's about the wealthy and powerful, maintaining that power, not representing the majority, being vested in the people or maintaining equality.
http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0912/which-income-class-are-you.aspx
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/representation
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/democracy
Great post. I agree with you that a democracy should be about representing the people instead of maintaining the wealth of those who are rich. Edward Woodhouse had some great ideas of how to reduce some of the influence of money in Washington DC. My favorite was a rather common sense idea of reducing how long campaigns can last. By doing this it would vastly reduce the cost to run for office, and there for get rid of many favors that are bought in the form of campaign donations. Anyways great post.
ReplyDelete