Why America — Where Only The Rich Get Richer — Is Not A Democracy

[Sensia]

Video Link 5 minute clip

"Bill Moyers has seen the rich getting richer since the 1950s, and he's sick and tired of it".

[joe bloe]

We're not supposed to be a Democracy. We're a constitutional Republic. Bill Moyers hasn't had real job since he left The Marshall News Messenger to be LBJ's press secretary in 1965. He only got that job because his boss, Houston Harte, was a huge financial backer of LBJ's, and basically told him to hire Moyers. Moyers got the big break, that made his career, because a rich fat cat pulled some strings. How's that for irony.

[Sidewinder]

The short answer is that the Founding Fathers knew something that, these days, is considered extremely politically incorrect.

Every democracy that ever existed committed suicide, when the plebes discovered that they could vote themselves bread and circuses from the public treasury. It works great until you run out of money.

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America knew this. They deliberately designed the US *NOT* to be a democracy.

Unfortunately, the current generation didn't take history classes, and never learned this lesson, and so we are doomed to learn it again, the hard way.

[joe bloe]

Originally Posted by Sidewinder

The short answer is that the Founding Fathers knew something that, these days, is considered extremely politically incorrect.

Every democracy that ever existed committed suicide, when the plebes discovered that they could vote themselves bread and circuses from the public treasury. It works great until you run out of money.

The Founding Fathers of the United States of America knew this. They deliberately designed the US *NOT* to be a democracy.

Unfortunately, the current generation didn't take history classes, and never learned this lesson, and so we are doomed to learn it again, the hard way.

The Constitution was designed as a firewall to keep the majority from looting the treasury. If our elected representatives would all abide by their oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution, we wouldn't be bankrupt.

[CuteOldGuy]

In this "democracy" we have created, out of the Republic our Founders gave us, the people can vote for whoever promises them the most. However, like most, if not all, democracies, it is one for you, 10 or more for us. So the rich get richer while handing tidbits to the population in exchange for votes.

That is not what the Founders intended, and it is not capitalism. It is crony capitalism, or more correctly called fascism. Once the rich buy enough votes with public money to give themselves absolute power, they will take it. Then the tidbits will stop. We will be told what we want, and when and how we want it. Kind of like, oh, say, health insurance?

You idiots that can't see this are destroying this country.

[Sensia]

Well from the history that I have read, yes America started out as a Republic and is now a Democratic Republic nation. Through the years we have morphed.. and we may morph again at this rate into a Plutocratic country, who knows...Only time will tell..

Just like Rome, It was once a Republic which evolved into a Democracy that allowed for an Oligarchy and then Fell.

We are currently a Democratic Republic regardless. By the way a nation can be both republic and democratic.

Edit: America is still a republic. One that uses a democratic process to maintain its political leadership. Obviously a republic couldn't exist without the democratic process, so it follows that America is also a democracy

[JD Barleycorn]

We are a republic still as long as we have the electoral college and the Constitution.

[Sensia]

Modern American democracy is in the form of a democratic republic or a representative democracy.

A representative democracy came about in the United States because the colonists were tired of taxation without representation and wanted a more fair system where the people had more say in the rule of the country. They did not desire the Athenian form of democracy however; as they feared it would give the people too much power and would lend control of the government to the uneducated masses.

What they came up with was a representative democracy wherein elected representatives rather than direct rule by the people rule the government. These representatives are elected with the idea that they will accurately represent their constituents, but in case some don’t, the U.S. government is divided into three branches to keep corruption in check.

These three branches are the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches. No one branch contains absolute power, rather, each branch is balanced off of the others creating a system of checks and balances to protect the principals of democracy.

This system is in no way perfect, and this is why we must pursue a more perfect form of democracy and a more perfect union between our citizens, states and country.

Thinkquest. Projects by students for students Link

[Fast Gunn]

This is a particular human problem and is not because of Democracy.

The fact is that the rich get richer in any form of government.

Avarice is a problem that is endemic to the general human condition, not to any particular form of government.

[icuminpeace]

So if we're not a democracy, why do we insist in other countries to be Democratic? That's like going to my neighbor's house to tell him that he should be a Democrat, but I'm not. Or tell him that he should be Christian, when I'm an atheist. The things our politicians do to confuse the crap out of people.

[Fast Gunn]

You are muddying up the waters with two separate and distinct issues.

The rich getting richer is not a problem with Democracy, it's a problem with humanity.

As to why we in this country prefer Democracy, is because it is still the best form of government that we have developed.

People do still yearn to be free. Nobody likes the yoke of dictatorship.

If we allow other forms of government, like say Dictatorship to run amok, then they will be inclined as they always are to try and take over this country.

On the other hand, invading Iraq like we did was wrong, but now we're going off on a tangent with this.

. . . Don't get me started!

[icuminpeace]

I was being sarcastic on my post. Believe it or not some people think they need to be Republican because we're not a Democracy and by God, if we're a Republic, I better vote Republican. Those Democrats want to turn us into a Democracy and I'll die defending our Republic. Democracy must equal communism or socialism and darn it, I'm a capitalist (even if I don't have $10 in my bank account).

Same applies to Democrats, not giving them a pass, it's just that it's very common to read posts like the above as people comment on news stories on the web. Like I always say, extremes are bad, even in politics.

[CuteOldGuy]

FastGoon, if nobody likes the yoke of dictatorship, how can you support Obama? He is the most anti-freedom president in history.