Sugar Daddy Government

In the United States, public policy is shaped by multiple factors, from average citizens voices in elections to interest groups and organizations. In their study, “Testing theories of American politics”, scholars Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens explore the impact of average citizens, the economic elite and interest groups have on the passage of public policy. Additionally through their, Page and Gilens(2014) have found “that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while mass-based interest groups and average citizens have little or no independent influence” (Pg 535). This means that when it comes to the creation of public policies, rich people and groups

Even with the many of the nation’s first lawmakers advocating for oligarchical rule, the fact that the United States would ultimately become an oligarchy, whether they wanted or not, has proven inevitable, or so the iron law of oligarchy suggests. Proposed by Robert Michels, the iron law states that no matter how complex or well thought out a democratic government may be, no large organization can function properly as a democracy; it will always devolve into oligarchical rule by what he referred to as the “leadership class.” Famously stating in 1911

Big business not only monopolized the economy, but also caused unprecedented corruption in the political system. Joseph Keppler’s “The Bosses of the Senate” political cartoon in Puck depicts the massive corruption in the political system as he claims that the Senate no longer served the people, but the industrial tycoons (document 4). The American people responded to this by forming political and economic organizations in an attempt to curb the control of the large

Political machines and the reformers who rallied against them had incredible influence in urban politics in the 19th and early 20th century. Each, however, has been labeled as corrupt monopolies and are seen as selfish towards their own goals. While there are tactics that worked to help cities grow stronger, the value of equal voting for all citizens was compromised in each regime’s quest for power.

New York City during the Gilded Age experienced a transformation on society that would leave a lasting effect on all aspects of the city. During this era in New York City, the idea of politics and its characters developed into some of the modern definitions that citizens still see in government today. The political corruption that consumed politics during this time period became a staple in New York City society. The word corruption gives the tactics of politicians in the Gilded Age a reputation that is filled with destructive and harmful methods that were unbeneficial to society. In reality, not all of the strategies of these politicians resulted in poor outcomes. Through questionable political tactics, officials used their power to negatively and positively push New York City into the 1900s, which would lead to political activism by the city’s people looking for change. Tammany Hall was one of the most influential political machines that directly impacted the people and society of New York City at this time, and exemplified what it meant to be a corrupt institution that helped positive change happen.

One of the issues I am most passionate about is that of money in American politics. Increasing campaign costs, coupled with a decrease in the number of donors contributing to those campaigns, is a disturbing trend which has caused many to feel the need to question the state of our democracy—myself included. The problem of mainstream political corruption and legalized bribery is one that I was made aware of three years ago, and has since become one of the things keeping me up at night most often.

The citizens were conned and exposed to the fractured ethics in a small southern town. It is not difficult to argue about the key roles of Ray Covington and James Womack had in Lee County. This thesis will show that greed and power are their ultimate goal and hope. By the end of the essay, it will illustrate how particularly corrupted and mendacious these men are. How Lee County citizens will suffer the negative effects due to a corrupt county commissioner and oil company owner, are instrumental creating fracking rules. It will clearly demonstrate how heinous these men are.

The Texas senate passed bill to control oil and gas companies activity, but the governor Greg Abbot is not letting to veto the bill. Even the Texas legislation has decided not to take care of community’s’ people. Also, they don’t have right to protect them. They only take care of money but, not the health of people. This is not only the problems of today’s. Infect, this problem is coming from ancient time. This problem is called the long tradition problem. Per the article by Texans for public justice reported that, “the energy and natural resources industries were the number one financial contributors to non-judicial Texas politicians in 2014.”it also states that 31 Texas senators earn nearly $ 60,000 for each person and 144 Texas representatives earn $ 25,000 each. The oil and gas industries are the economic sources. It proves that state of government only take care of finance and they oil and gas interest, but not the health of public. This statement proves that they control over local government.

Carnegie believed that the government should leave matters of the economy to the wealthy. By keeping the “concentration of business” in the “hands of few” it ensured the “progress of the race” (Document 3). He felt that they were given the right to influence the public through survival of the fittest. Since these industrialists were strong enough to endure the ladder to the top, naturally they should stay there and determine the fate of the public. Some have decided to speak out on the evident corruption in the society such as James B. Weaver. He says that “It is clear that trusts are contrary to public policy and hence in conflict with the common law. They are monopolies organized to destroy competition and restrain trade…” (Document 4). Weaver exposes the tycoons for what they really were, a detriment to the common people. He explains that the only purpose of trusts is to make money and increase prices of the

Vladeck (2002, para.14) addresses the issue of monetary power and its impact on universal health care coverage in the United States further pointing out that while politicians in the United States were able to succeed without huge electoral support, they couldn’t succeed without money behind them. As industry began to grow in the United States and contracts came up for large infrastructure projects such as the railroad, building canals or bridges and mining, the concept of political donations in return for lucrative contracts began to get established. Vladeck (2002, para16) also points out that wealthy groups and individuals have always been

Reading G. William Domhoff’s Who Rules America?: The Triumph of the Corporate Rich was an intriguing and challenging experience for me. My limited knowledge base of the American political class system mostly stems from high school US History classes and listening to my mom’s stories of her experiences in the corporate world. Therefore, I am aware that due to my prior lack of knowledge on the topics presented in Domhoff’s book, I may have misjudged some of his finer points. Part of my struggles may be largely due to the fact that Domhoff’s intended audience for Who Rules America? is other experts in the field of understanding the sociology of the corporate elite and their resources of power. However, I believe that the book has given me a better, if not complete, understanding of the corporate elite and how they stay in power.

There has been a lot of fuss over big business influencing the government in the United States lately. Now there is no doubt that the business elite have some influence on politics. It can even be traced back to the early 1900’s, when “the People’s Party had disintegrated, but many writers and activists have continued to echo the Populists’ central thesis: that the U.S. democratic political system is in fact dominated by business elites” (). Although there are countless arguments to go against this idea, the questions still comes up today: Is government dominated by big business? Political Scientist G. William Domhoff believes that government is dominated by big business. More specifically, Domhoff believes that owners and top-level managers in income-producing properties are not only dominant power figures in the US, but they also have inordinate influence in the federal government (). Another political scientist however, Sheldon Kamieniecki, believes otherwise. He states that businesses do not really get involved in policies that affect them; and even when they do, their success rate at influencing policies is not consistent. In fact, he believes that other factions have more influence on government policies ().

The purpose of the textbook, Who Rules America? by G. William Domhoff, is to explain his theory of Class Domination. My essay emphasises the relation of social class to power, the existence of a Corporate community, the relationship of the Corporate community to the upper class, and various methods used by the Corporate community to dominate the U.S Political System. Furthermore, my essay will discuss the potential limits to corporate power in America.

The government in the United States supposedly revolves around American ideals such as equality and diversity; however, this is simply not the case as perpetuated by class inequalities. The meaning of democracy has been skewed in the United States to represent something entirely different than it did in 1776. Today, American democracy behaves more like an aristocracy, where the upper class exercises power within the government and state, influencing discourse and therefore the laws and resources in our country, which are purportedly “for the people”. Democracy is presumed to provide everyone with equal political power, but the government in today’s America, although seemingly following this ideal model, does not. Instead, the elite upper class has a monopoly over the political influence and are the sole benefactors from public policies due to their influence over the policy making process. The upper class has an overall benefit from class inequality, as it greatly impacts American ‘democracy’ through the significant power gained through money and status, leadership roles that impact government, and the influence in the policymaking process that creates upper class advantages.

The power elite is able to exert power over society. The power elite’s control over politics demonstrates how inequality is functional. This validates the class-domination theory of power, which is distributed based on economic power. By controlling economic resources, the power elites political influence in government shapes law and those involved in government to the power elites benefit. In today’s American society these laws have impacted both the corporate community and the elite. Furthermore, the author’s portrayal of the elite displayed how the elite have control concerning choices in government policies, elections, and laws.