plu·toc·ra·cy [ploo-tok-ruh-see]
- the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy.
- a government or state in which the wealthy class rules.
- a class or group ruling, or exercising power or influence, by virtue of its wealth.
as·cend·ant [uh–sen-duh nt]
- a position of dominance or controlling influence: possession of power, superiority, or preeminence: With his rivals in the ascendant, he soon lost his position.
Democracy in the United States is in decline, diminishing under the assault of corporations and the very rich. Our government is for sale, as testified by the Citizens United and McCutcheon Supreme Court decisions. Gilens and Page (2014) have found 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.” This is not the government we learned about in civics class.
ne·o·lib·er·al·ism [nee-oh-lib-er-uh-liz-uh m, –lib-ruh-]
a modern politico-economic theory favouring free trade, privatization, minimal government intervention in business, reduced public expenditure on social services, etc
The growth of Plutocracy and Corporatocracy have been accompanied by the growth of Neoliberal Economic policy. The brain child of Milton Friedman from the University of Chicago, these policies were first put in to play in Chile following the coup by Augusto Pinochet. In the intervening decades, they have been applied around the world. The usual result of these policies is a concentration of wealth at the top, and the sale of communal assets to private investors at rock bottom prices.
Plutocracy Ascendant is dedicated to educating people about the changes happening in the US government and economic system. These changes that benefit the rich will cost the poor and middle class dearly.
I hope to generate good, topical conversation. Please feel free to reply to any post. If you want to contact me directly, you may do so on the Contact page.
Dedication
This is for my children, who will live in the world we create.
Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations, even those whose faces are yet beneath the surface of the ground – the unborn of the future Nation.
The Constitution of the Iroquois Nations: The Great Binding Law
Definitions according to Dictionary.com (retrieved 18 April 2014)
Plutocracy Ascendant 