In a letter to an associate dated November 21, 1933, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote:
. . . . . The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know,
. . . . . that a financial element in the large centers has
. . . . . owned the government ever since the days of Andrew
. . . . . Jackson ...
On February 23, 1954, Senator William Jenner warned in a speech:
. . . . . Today the path to total dictatorship in the United
. . . . . States can be laid by strictly legal means, unseen
. . . . . and unheard by the Congress, the President, or the
. . . . . people.... Outwardly we have a Constitutional government.
. . . . . We have operating within our govemment and political
. . . . . system, another body representing another form of
. . . . . government, a bureaucratic elite which believes our
. . . . . Constitution is outmoded and is sure that it is the
. . . . . winning side ... All the strange developments in
. . . . . foreign policy agreements may be traced to this group
. . . . . who are going to make us over to suit their pleasure.
. . . . . This political action group has its own local political
. . . . . support organizations, its own pressure groups, its
. . . . . own vested interests, its foothold within our government,
. . . . . and its own propaganda apparatus.
Some people say those who do not know the past have to repeat it. But it
is impossible to know the past if we can't even know the present, because
all we "see" is headlines and headlines and headlines. There is no
knowing being done by the people. We are being controlled by the
what? A shadow government -- probably not. Everything is random.
"A government by representatives, elected by the people at short periods, was our object; and our maxim at that day was 'where annual election ends, tyranny begins' " -Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Samuel Adams
Anybody that thinks that the rich and powerful have no hold or influence on politicians is naive.
Even if you kill the rich and redistribute the wealth, the guys with the guns doing the redistribution and killing hold the power.
There is no perfect way - equitable government is like absolute zero - impossible to achieve.
The best you can do is whack a mole reform - avoid voting for either of the big two and make sure the reform parties hold the balance of power that way reforms are enacted. Not perfect but better than a poke in the eye with a burnt stick.