Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
ECON 2020-501-F17
Professor Magnusson
7 December 2017
Who Rules America
The discussion of who rules America has been argued for centuries. Does public
democracy rule America, or perhaps the President of the United States rules America? Do the
wealthiest Americans rule America? It is certain that the United States does not have a large
military force threatening to take over the government, nor does it have one big church, this
leaves the only power system of any significance to be an economic one. So, who rules America?
In the 1600s and 1700s most Englishmen that arrived in America were very wealthy.
These Englishmen were so wealthy they brought indentured servants with them. These
indentured servants were required to work off the cost of passage to America to the Englishman
once they arrived in America. These immigrants were very poor, their only option to make a
better life for themselves and their families was to indenture themselves to those who paid their
passage to America. It is estimated that 80% of immigrants in the 1700s were servants. These
servants were not given the courtesy to have any power or freedom, until their debts were paid in
Many sociologists argue that America is ruled by the wealthiest citizens. The wealthiest
of Americans have been in, and are currently in power. They influence political figures to create
laws that benefit the wealthiest of Americans. The politicians that the public votes to represent
them in office seem to be concerned with A) being elected, and B) being re-elected. The only
way for a politician to be successful at entering an office is to have the financial backing to
become an elected official. The politician becomes concerned with pleasing the people who can
begin with. But, it becomes very enticing to the politician to garner re-election once they reap the
individual pay benefits, health insurance, prestige, power, etc. Domhoffs findings show that the,
upper class, compromising 0.5% to 1% of the population, owns 35-40% of all privately held
wealth in the United States, and received 12-15% of total yearly income.
Lichtman points out that the wealthy individuals can hire lobbyists to shadow elected
officials in Washington and reward them by filling their campaign coffers. This lining of the
campaign coffers helps encourage the legislators to vote for or against items that will benefit the
wealthy, such as tax cuts for the upper class. According to Parlapiano and Andrews from the
New York times, that 80% of tax payers in the $1 million or more income groups will receive a
tax cut in 2019. By 2027, 61% would get a tax cut and 39% would pay more in taxes. This is
compared to 38% of taxpayers in the $10,000 to $20,000 income group would get a tax cut in
2019. By 2027, 3% would get a tax cut and 23% would pay more in taxes.
The stark reality of tax cuts going to the wealthy is absolute apparent with the
information from the New York Times. In my recollection, it appears that every time there is a
Republican President in office, the wealthiest tax brackets receive big tax cuts. It is believable
that this is due to the Republican legislators believe there will be less chance of a Presidential
veto if the President himself would benefit from the tax cut. Our current Presidents net income
is $3.1 billion dollars. These proposed tax cuts will save him a great deal of money. Although the
Presidential and legislator salaries are considerably less than the private sector, those in charge
Another key piece to ruling powers is having an education. Granted there are legislators
in the past, current, and future that will not be wealthy. However, all Presidents since Harry
Truman have had college degrees. Most national legislators also have college degrees. The
wealthy people in the country can provide prestigious educations for their children. Ivy League
schools such as Yale, Harvard, and Princeton cost almost twice as much to attend than a state
college. Yale, Harvard, and Princetons 2017 tuitions and fees average at $47,285 annually
compared to the University of Utahs tuitions and fees of $23,535. The Ivy League colleges have
Society for some reason places a higher qualitative value on a graduate of an Ivy League
college than a State University graduate. The education that is being taught to attendees from all
colleges would appear to be the same, but the prestigious Ivy League name somehow means
more. Valuable connections are made with the wealthy at these Ivy League schools. Providing
graduates with high paying managerial jobs, even though they may not have any work history.
Those who may not have an Ivy League education, but have 10+ years of work experience, make
Society seems to place more confidence in someone with money over someone with
qualifications. We have created this belief system that those with more money are more
knowledgeable and we should follow their directions. Fame is another factor that people place
value in. It is interesting to me that because people have seen Donald Trump on TV as a boss,
firing people, they believe it would make him a great person to represent the United States.
Good, bad, or indifferent, the election of Trump was a good example of the masses of voters who
may not have done any research on whether he would be a good fit for the office, but voted for
him because they saw him on TV and he was willing to say whatever he wanted. It still amazes
sense that he can encourage the legislators to pass certain bills. He has a captive audience in
America that listens and follows him blindly. Not to completely pick on Trump, my comments
In conclusion, I agree with the authors, and believe that those who are the wealthiest have
the financial, and educational capacity to have the ruling power in America. The wealthy rule
through money, prestige, power, connections, etc. Money talks. Legislators listen. Laws are
Sources
Domhoff, G. William. Power in America. Who Rules America: The Class-Domination Theory
of Power, Feb. 2012,
http://www2.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/class_domination.html
Parlapiano, Alicia, and Wilson Andrews. How Many People In Your Income Group Would Get
a Tax Cut? The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Nov. 2017,
www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/11/30/us/politics/tax-cuts-increases-for-your-
income.html