Is the USA really a democracy?

Forget Trump’s second term. Focus on just the first 25 years of this century, cutting off at the end of 2024. 13 years with Democratic Presidents and 12 years with Republican Presidents.

So, according to the Federal Reserve, during the first 25 years of this century, the poorest 50% of Americans have never owned more than 3.2% of the country’s wealth. That was under Clinton and the first three months of Bush’s presidency. At its lowest, for 18 months under Obama, they owned just 0.4%. At the end of 2024, it stood at 2.5%, at which time, the wealthiest 10% of Americans had captured 67.4% of the whole country’s wealth.

To help illustrate that, the average wealth for the poorest 50% was $24,000 (which probably sounds like a load of money for those in the poorest 10-20%). At the same time, the average wealth of someone in the top 10% was more than $3,205,882, though that figure is skewed upwards by the wealthiest 1% who each have almost $15 million each.

I don’t believe any sane member of the poorest 50% of Americans believes they’re receiving their fair share. If you work hard, you shouldn’t be struggling to pay for a home and to keep it warm and safe. Or to feed or clothe your loved ones.

Surely in a healthy and fully functioning democracy, the poorest 50% would use their voting power to elect politicians to make them better off. End food insecurity and sort the housing and general affordability crises. Yet at every election they vote for politicians who keep everything the same.

Actually, that underplays it. Since 1989, the poorest 50% have voted for politicians who have increased the wealth share of the richest 1% from 22.8% to 30.9%.

Wouldn’t that 8.1% have made a bigger difference being given to the poorest 50% rather than the already super-wealthy top 1%?

Or am I just some kind of dirty, filthy, potty-mouthed commie? Well, comrade…cough…um, I mean, friend, am I?

Clearly, Americans enjoy the mechanics of democracy, but the results are more like we’d expect from an oligarchical regime?

Especially when you realize that the poorest 50% of Russians, with 3%, have a larger share of their country’s wealth than poor Americans. And Russia is a genuine, absolutely bona fide oligarchy.

Democracy is meant to allow the majority to vote for their best interests. Surely something’s going wrong with democracy when the majority of Americans keep voting for the best interests of a tiny elite, instead.

So, considering the massive inequality, is the USA really a democracy?

And the US isn’t some weird anomaly. The same question could also be asked of the European Union, where the poorest 50% own about 4%, and the UK, where it’s about 6%.

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Click to copy post textForget Trump’s second term. Focus on just the first 25 years of this century, cutting off at the end of 2024. 13 years with Democratic Presidents and 12 years with Republican Presidents. So, according to the Federal Reserve, during the first 25 years of this century, the poorest 50% of Americans have never owned more than 3.2% of the country’s wealth. That was under Clinton and the first three months of Bush's presidency. At its lowest, for 18 months under Obama, they owned just 0.4%. At the end of 2024, it stood at 2.5%, at which time, the wealthiest 10% of Americans had captured 67.4% of the whole country's wealth. To help illustrate that, the average wealth for the poorest 50% was $24,000 (which probably sounds like a load of money for those in the poorest 10-20%). At the same time, the average wealth of someone in the top 10% was more than $3,205,882, though that figure is skewed upwards by the wealthiest 1% who each have almost $15 million each. I don’t believe any sane member of the poorest 50% of Americans believes they’re receiving their fair share. If you work hard, you shouldn't be struggling to pay for a home and to keep it warm and safe. Or to feed or clothe your loved ones. Surely in a healthy and fully functioning democracy, the poorest 50% would use their voting power to elect politicians to make them better off. End food insecurity and sort the housing and general affordability crises. Yet at every election they vote for politicians who keep everything the same. Actually, that underplays it. Since 1989, the poorest 50% have voted for politicians who have increased the wealth share of the richest 1% from 22.8% to 30.9%. Wouldn’t that 8.1% have made a bigger difference being given to the poorest 50% rather than the already super-wealthy top 1%? Or am I just some kind of dirty, filthy, potty-mouthed commie? Well, comrade…cough…um, I mean, friend, am I? Clearly, Americans enjoy the mechanics of democracy, but the results are more like we'd expect from an oligarchical regime? Especially when you realize that the poorest 50% of Russians, with 3%, have a larger share of their country's wealth than poor Americans. And Russia is a genuine, absolutely bona fide oligarchy. Democracy is meant to allow the majority to vote for their best interests. Surely something’s going wrong with democracy when the majority of Americans keep voting for the best interests of a tiny elite, instead. So, considering the massive inequality, is the USA really a democracy? And the US isn't some weird anomaly. The same question could also be asked of the European Union, where the poorest 50% own about 4%, and the UK, where it’s about 6%.

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