Why Do the Rich Have So Much Power?

[Zorro]

Americans may be equal, but some are more equal than others.

America is, in principle, a democracy, in which every vote counts the same. It’s also a nation in which income inequality has soared, a development that hurts many more people than it helps. So if you didn’t know better, you might have expected to see a political backlash: demands for higher taxes on the rich, more spending on the working class and higher wages.

In reality, however, policy has mostly gone the other way. Tax rates on corporations and high incomes have gone down, unions have been crushed, the minimum wage, adjusted for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1960s. How is that possible?

The answer is that huge disparities in income and wealth translate into comparable disparities in political influence. To see how this works, let’s look at a fairly recent example: the budgetary Grand Bargain that almost happened in 2011.

At the time, Washington was firmly in the grip of deficit fever. Even though the federal government was able to borrow at historically low interest rates, everyone who mattered seemed to be saying that the budget deficit was the most important issue facing America and that it was essential to rein in spending on Social Security and Medicare.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/opinion/inequality-america-paul-krugman.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Because they have a lot of money? Duh.

[GeorgeGist]

2. Because they can afford to buy it.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. Because people are greedy

[secondwind]

4. Because money talks and shit walks. Period.

[stillcool]

5. because they have their fingers in every pot...

having large stock-holdings in a variety of industries, enabling them to sit on boards and shape policy, on a global basis. Wealth is influence, and influence is power.

[Baked Potato]

6. They have the money to bribe and Rat Fuck,

coupled with a well-greased evangelical operation.

[SharonAnn]

7. Because we let them have it.

[Dan]

8. Citizens United