Posted on 04/16/2014 4:35:44 PM PDT by SatinDoll
We're better than those damned Russians and their Putin; we have democracy!
Well, maybe not.
Quote: Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy, while average citizens and mass-based interest groups have little or no independent influence. The results provide substantial support for theories of Economic Elite Domination and for theories of Biased Pluralism, but not for theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy or Majoritarian Pluralism.
Lots of big words in that paragraph.
Let's distill it down -- the argument presented is that America is really no different than Russia; that actual democratic forces, that is, the expression of will by the people, for the people is a chimera and has no actual effect or impact on policy.
However, the 0.01% do; they set policy and then create a shimmer of "belief" that you actually have a voice.
Just like Russia does.
You think not? Then explain the following:
How is it that it can be illegal, with felony prison time attached, for you to buy a drug manufactured in Mexico and bring it back to the United States for resale? This prohibition is the only reason that scorpion antivenom sells for $30,000 a vial here and $100 in Mexico, where it is made and where you can buy it over the counter. Likewise it is the same set of laws that allows Gilead to charge $84,000 for a course of treatment that they sell in other nations for $900 while prohibiting you from buying it for $900 and reselling it here in the US. This sort of conduct would be punished as flat-out unlawful in an actual society that honored the rule of law and the principle that all are equal. Instead our nation will imprison you should you try to break that monopoly using nothing other than your own money to buy and willing customers to sell said products to.
How is it that universities and industry can collude to effectively force attendance at their schools in order to enter various fields instead of simply testing for competence? Specifically you cannot even sit for a bar exam without attending law school in person, among other fields. Yet you may have all of the skills necessary to be an attorney and you may have acquired them through various means. The same is true of many other disciplines. On top of that both universities and banking interests have managed to reclassify loans for education as "special" and therefore unable to be discharged in bankruptcy, thereby protecting the price of their service. All of this has served to drive post-secondary educational costs up 600% compared against minimum wage jobs over the last 30 years, rendering it flatly impossible to work your way through school -- a path that used to be available to literally anyone who could pass the coursework.
Want to make cars? You must allow a cartel of middlemen to sell and service them. Yes, Tesla got a "limited exemption" in some states (but not others), but it only applies to them! Gee, you don't think the money and influence that Tesla's founder has might be involved in that? What part of a free market prohibits the entry and exit of various manufacturers of vehicles "at will" with different sales and service economic models, all of which should be competing for market share?
How close are we to minting another Hitler or Stalin? Many think Putin is one. Better look closer to home; specifically in NYC. What sort of hubris do you have to have to believe that you're entitled to entry to heaven? Especially when that same "entitlement" comes from your belief that you should be able to carry a weapon for self-defense and pay others to do so on your behalf (up to and including taking a bullet in the chest in your place) but ordinary people should be barred as a matter of law from doing so and sent to prison if they refuse to consent to being violent crime victims unable to defend themselves from the myriad thugs that are unfortunately present in all societies. Maybe -- just maybe -- such hubris comes with an expectation that if you succeed in your quest you might be the guy directing who goes into the boxcars -- and ultimately the "showers"?
Take a read of that Princeton paper. I'm not much of a fan of that particular college, but once in a while even a blind squirrel finds a nut.
Or, in this case, maybe they've identified and called out a whole bunch of nuts.
Notice that we are called a Democracy, and not a Republic?
I am going to quote here one "PJ" who posted a comment on Market-ticker. Freepers, I'm certain, will not be shocked that de Blasio is a hypocrite.
"... I found this NY Post article from Oct 2013 that sheds a little more light on DeBlasio's property positions:
"Bill de Blasio, who owns $2.3million in Brooklyn real estate, is violating the citys housing rules, The Post has found.
The Democrat mayoral candidate has not registered his $1.1 million, two-unit Brooklyn rental property with the citys Department of Housing Preservation and Development as required by law. He also failed to report the rental income he receives in his annual financial-disclosure filing.
Owners of buildings with one or two units must register annually with HPD if neither the owner nor any of his family members live there.
The citys Administrative Code requires city officials to disclose outside income of more than $1,000 a year, including revenue from rent.
De Blasio, who has been the citys public advocate since 2010 and before that served in City Council, has not disclosed any rental income on filings dating back to 2007, according to records from the citys Conflicts of Interest Board.
He has one set of standards for himself and another for everyone else, said a spokeswoman for Republican rival Joe Lhotas campaign. The level of corruption in New York is alarming, and the last thing we need is a mayor who is skirting ethics rules and hiding income. This is exactly what drives people crazy about politicians.
De Blasio bought the rental property in 2004 with his wife, Chirlane McCray, and his mom, Maria Wilhelm. They paid $612,500 for the row house at 384 11th St., built around 1901. It is on the same Park Slope street where the couple lives with their two children."
http://nypost.com/2013/10/27/de-blasio-f...."
Can you say, 'oligarch'?
No surprise, is there!
Ha. Princeton knows all about it because they’re an elite nwo school.
Multivariate ping (always loved that term)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.