Amy Johnson

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

full. Thereby giving those who were wealthy the power.

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

add to their coffers for their election campaigns.

 I believe that these politicians may have good intentions to represent their constituents to

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

appear to have deep pockets.

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

a 6.87% acceptance rate whereas the U of U has an 81% acceptance rate.

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

less than an Ivy League graduate.

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

me the things that Donald Trump will tweet.

 Trump being one of the wealthiest people in the United States does have power in the

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

are pertinent to my opinion the wealthy having power.

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

made. The wealthy benefit.

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

Lichtman, Allan J. Who Rules America? TheHill, 4 Feb. 2016,

http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/civil-rights/214857-who-rules-america

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