Bill Bonner Letter 12/2015

G.W. Bush said it was the “world’s oldest” functioning democracy. And maybe it is. But it’s not what it used to be.

The words are the same. The form is the same. The myth has been preserved. The country is still called a constitutional republic. People believe in it and use the writings of the Founding Fathers to help them make their arguments.

But, under the hood, the motor is completely different. As my friend Jim Davidson says, it is now a “pimpocracy” (the feds offer favors… someone else is forced to provide them).
People still go to the polls and imagine that they are deciding the fate of the nation. But it isn’t true.

An analysis done by Princeton and Northwestern universities showed that “while average citizens and mass-based [i.e., pluralist] interest groups have little or no influence… economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent impacts on U.S. government policy.” In other words, the U.S. government actually functions more like an oligarchy than a democracy.

…

All Deep State activities are designed to serve the insiders and fail the public. The last thing the drug warriors want is for people to stop using illegal drugs. Their industry would be out of business. The last thing the prison industry would want is for criminals to go straight. (Part of the reason we have so many new laws is to keep the prison industry fed.) The education industry benefits from failed schools. The anti-poverty industry benefits from failed welfare programs. So, too, does the security industry gain wealth and power by failing to provide real security.”