Economic Inequality In The United States

Through inaction, the government is helping the rich get richer.
But how can a country governed by majority rule favor a narrow group of Americans? How can a democratic government allow economic inequality? The key to answering this question lies in the politics during the 1960’s. The 1960/s was a decade filled with civil rights, Vietnam War, and rising crime, which all led to the crash of liberalism and allowed the Republicans to take control. Under Nixon, there was an increase in domestic spending, government activism and an extension in national regulatory policy; this caused businesses to suffer major setbacks. Many people thought that Nixon’s administration was the turning point towards the winner-take-all economy, but it was actually …show more content…
This answers the question as to why politicians supported the rich. To support their argument of the important role of organizations in politics, the authors use a quote from FDR when he says “get some organized pressure behind you, so that I will be rewarded for doing the right thing..” (108); this only proves that organized groups can pressure politicians into doing things that favor them. In truth, Washington made the rich richer and abandoned the middle class because of “the relentless effectiveness of modern, efficient organizations” (115), and due to the increased polarization of the two main political parties. The main thing to learn is that mobilization of corporations pushed politicians to tilt the economy towards the wealthy; causing the gap between the rich and the average Americans to increase and lead to a drastic economic …show more content…
The art of modern politics is to please the voters and their most organized supporters. From the 1970’s, business groups formed PACs (Political Action Committees) and began to channel massive amounts of money into campaigns as a means to control the political parties and politicians; “corporate PACs increased from 922 to 2182” (171). Faced with the incentive of money, political parties scrambled to adapt to the new changes. The evolution of the Republican party occured rather quickly compared to that of the Democratic party because of its “more natural affinities with business and the well-to-do” (172). This is proven by the fact that “rapidly growing PACs would contribute to $83.6 million to congressional candidate[s]” (173) of the Republican party. Due to the organizational shifts in American policies, Republicans constructed a party structure that linked interest groups and candidates through bonds of campaign money and favorable public policy. Republicans took advantage of the new political system. The resurgence of Republican power is correlated with the rising business power and the beginning of the winner-take-all economy. As American politics shifted, Republicans made the first moves that allowed them to capitalize on the new opportunities while the Democrats struggled. This allowed the GOP to raise an

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