May 4, 2015 Due May 11, 2015 (DUE FOR JUNIORS ONLY)
Since we are the middle of IB testing, only juniors need to do this blog. Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?
Read and Answer: http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
- 28 comments
- Posted under Uncategorized
hussibhoa 
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augustjones
said
Two IB exams:
IB Psychology
Ib Chemistry
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itaylor068
said
Two exams:
-IB Psychology
-IB Chem
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khadijahwatson
said
Two exams:
-IB Psychology
-IB Math studies
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shadowlander16
said
America has evolved into a plutocracy, is there any solutions? I think the economy has come up, stock market is doing well, profits are high and interest rates are low. There are slight differences between the two parties. The idea that this is more between the two parties are irrelevant. The period blank point is we should have got change in 2008. The way to stop it would be,¨Yes, but it’s a very tough path. Plutocracy has a way of spreading like an epidemic until democracy itself is abandoned. History shows the wreckage of democracies killed from within.¨(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html) The fact that the country doesent participate in global cases dont help the goverment or the well being of the united states. Everything is leaning towards the conservative side. ¨Why does the actual vote count for so little? People vote for individuals, not directly for policies. They may elect a politician running on a platform for change, but the politician once elected will then vote for the positions of the big campaign donors. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html) We protested everything in the 1890s and we threatened the stability of the country. We changed and had civil rights movement. Government is constantly evolving. We need to participate more in our government decisions. The people need to created a direct line, our problem is more directly related to our ¨rigged¨ economy system.
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ramseybrooke
said
A plutocracy is a country or society governed by the wealthy. I believe America is starting to evolve into a plutocracy. I don’t think we are fully there yet but we are on the rise to becoming a plutocracy. Money is power and if you are wealthy you are in the position to be powerful. ” One of the major themes in America today is how the wealthy use their money and position to influence policy and the idea of success.”(http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/). Yes im sure there are solutions to this problem. “All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html).
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ramseybrooke
said
IB Math Studies
IB Chemistry
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renasha123
said
The idea between the two parties are irrelevant. The period blank point is we have gotten a change in 2008. The are ways to stop it would be,¨Yes, but it’s a very tough path. Plutocracy has a way of spreading like an a rash in democracy itself is abandoned. “All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html. The people need to created a direct line, our problem is more directly related to our ¨rigged¨ economy system. We have involeved
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caroline styers
said
Two Exams: Psych and Math
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zhalenr
said
The question to this weeks blog post asks “Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?”
Well first, A plutocracy is a country or society governed by the wealthy. The United States of America, in my opinion is starting to form into a “plutocracy”. It won’t take us long to fully form into a plutocracy. Money is everything in the USA. Its basically looked at as power. If you are wealthy you are in the position to be powerful or to have a really high position. ” One of the major themes in America today is how the wealthy use their money and position to influence policy and the idea of success.”(http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/). There are solutions to this problem. I don’t think that the world has always been like this. A lot of people make the statement that the world needs to go back to how it once was. “All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html).
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shatonia4398
said
Representative Democracy- A system of government in which all eligible citizens vote on representatives to pass laws for them.
Plutocracy- Government by the wealthy.
I think America has evolved into a plutocracy because there are a lot of wealthy people that seems to have a lot of power. To me, it seems that if you don’t really have money, then it’s harder to make it in life. Especially how things are today, money is all anybody wants. In my opinion, there aren’t any solutions for this. Money is everything right now and there is no changing that.
“This was the billionaires’ election, billionaires of both parties.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
“The real plutocrats are the top 1/10th of 1%: the 350,000 individuals that receive 11.33% of overall income.”http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/
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Leslie chegue
said
America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? America was evolved with plutocracy , it’s set to be a democracy here in America but still wealth is everything.”One of the major themes in America today is how the wealthy use their money and position to influence policy and the idea of success.”(http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/). I think there are some solutions! “All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people”(http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6113618) . We have to start from somewhere to get what we want! If we can’t find solutions in one way we go and look for others.
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vintagesoul12
said
“Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy?” Yes the definition of. Plutocracy is ” a country or society ruled by the wealthy ” And when you think about it, the congressmen and congresswomen that run in elections, are very much wealthy. Money talks. “The evidence is overwhelming that politicians vote the interests of their donors, not of society at large. ” ( http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6113618)
Voters contributing money to elections would have more of an influence on, the final outcome than regular voters. People may think that our votes matter. And in a way, they do don’t get me wrong. But party the most money goes to wins. It’s sad this is what our countries come to. And I’m not exactly sure how to solve it. Bit we have at least a few good presidents out of the deal.
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geraldinmartinez015
said
Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?
Yes i believe America is.. when it comes to the representation that america has its define as plutocracy.
America has always been all about wealth and social class.
” Plutocracy: a country or society governed by the wealthy.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/
At the end of the day money is POWER! if you have money you go over anybody.. if you look back at all our Congressmen they’ve all been wealthy.. Even now … everyone that runs for any type of election has to have any type of money to run. MONEY makes the world go around. My personal believe about money is that .. you don’t need to have money to be happy.. is all about LOVE! If you are loved by your family than you don’t need nothing else.
I’t sad that this world is and always have been ruled by wealth.
http://WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.COM/JEFFREY-SACHS/UNDERSTANDING-AND-OVERCOM_B_6113618.HTML
When it comes time for election everyone votes.. Everybody thinks that their opinion count and i mean that’s what they make us believe?… but does it really count, or it is how much money they pay to run and win?! Some of the runners promise so many things to the community but only accomplish so much.
I don’t think there’s any solutions about this problem because some people only care about money and how rich they can get.. so it don’t matter what we try to do, this country will continue to be a plutocracy country.
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cdanielles
said
Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?
A plutocracy is a country or society governed by the wealthy. I think that over time America has evolved into a plutocracy. The representative democracy that America was based on has long since vanished. The rich are the ones in charge of the political system, “The richest of the rich pay for the political system — putting in billions of dollars in campaign and lobbying funds — and garner trillions of dollars of benefits in return.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html). The only way to even attempt to fix this problem is through protests and some strong leaders who want to step up to the plate (although these “strong leaders” will have to be wealthy).However, I do not believe there are any REAL solutions to this problem. There will always be corrupt government officials who only care about money, and not the people.
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maddiehaas
said
“Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?”
Being that a plutocracy is a country or society governed by the wealthy, I believe America is quickly evolving into a plutocracy. In this nation money is power. If you’re wealthy than you’re most like to succeed; sadly. Basically if you’re rich you can buy what you want instead of really working. “The richest of the rich pay for the political system — putting in billions of dollars in campaign and lobbying funds” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html)
Yes, I believe there is a solution. The plutocracy may have quickly spread but there are ways to slow it down.
“his is our time and responsibility to help save democracy. The Occupy Movement and the 400,000 New Yorkers who marched for climate-change control in September are pointing the way.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html)
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ndaquioag98
said
The question of the blogpost is, ” Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?”
“The stock market is soaring, profits are high, interest rates are near zero, and taxes are low. The main countervailing forces — unions, antitrust authorities, and financial regulators — have been clobbered.”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html)
I do agree that it has become a plutocracy, but I also agree that there are solutions. America is booming as it has been for several decades. (Excluding our times of the great depression)
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adamnesnow782
said
” Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?”
“First I don’t think we’ve become a plutocracy and I don’t see why it would matter if we were. A plutocracy is a society or country run by the wealthy, which is not always a bad thing. I agree that the wealthy have some say in what goes on politically through lobby’s and such, but not as much as people would like to think. “putting in billions of dollars in campaign and lobbying funds” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
One still has the right to vote no matter how much money a company pumps in to a political group, therefore making the plutocracy theory irrelevant. Now the reasoning behind why it wouldn’t be all that bad if we were under a plutocracy. A plutocracy is a country run by the richest of the rich, which also means they are the best of the best at something. So why would we not want the best of the best running things?
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noblitt
said
Look at the stats, most of the richest of the rich are the best at being born into money, nothing else
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karigandanielle
said
Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any?
Even though I could careless about what America is, America is slowly evolving into a plutocracy. Plutocracy is a society or country ran by the wealthy. Although I hate to say it, the middle class and the less fortunate are ran by the wealthy.
“The stock market is soaring, profits are high, interest rates are near zero, and taxes are low.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html)
As for attempting to turn it around, we’d have to go through the great depression again and start from scratch. Nothing can stop our economy. Even if the people actually got a say in what goes on in the big leagues, they would just cast our vote to the side. They honestly could careless about what we think. That’s why they “run” us all. Then again, they had to have a great skill in something to get to where they are today; why not let them run us? They’re doing more than any of us could.
“I don’t think you can reverse this trend unless there is another economic and financial disaster that wipes out a good portion of these obscene fortunes held by several of the 1%.” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/)
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nicandel
said
America today is no longer a representative democracy. Sad to say but it has turned into a plutocracy, Obama is nothing more than a puppet. It is pretty bad when it is to the point where we(the people) no longer have any true effect in the elections.”This was the billionaires’ election, billionaires of both parties.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
Elections are just the rich throwing money towards campaigns and whoever has the most money wins! “The richest of the rich pay for the political system — putting in billions of dollars in campaign and lobbying funds — and garner trillions of dollars of benefits in return. “http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
That is terrible. Solutions? There honestly aren’t any at this point. I feel like if we were to try to put a stop to this our economy would crash.
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clintonreel16
said
Is America a representative democracy, as it was founded, or has it evolved into a plutocracy? What are the solutions, if any? America has evolved into a plutocracy. plutocracy- the rule or power of wealth or of the wealthy. A plutocracy is run by the wealthy, generally the wealthiest. “But the real plutocrats are the top 1/10th of 1%: the 350,000 individuals that receive 11.33% of overall income.” (http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/ ). America has evolved into a Plutocracy because the top 1% can buy out the politicians and help them win if they promise to further the businesses agenda. “It’s not easy for the politicians to shun the campaign funds even if they want to. Money works in election campaigns. It pays for attack ads that flood the media, and it pays for elaborate and sophisticated get-out-the-vote efforts that target households at the micro level to manipulate who does and does not go to the polls. ” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html). A possible to way to fix this issue is by making all elections funded by the state or federal government, so everyone is on an equal playing field. Also, make being in a federal office permanent, similar to a supreme court judge (but you can be impeached if you break the law).
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michaeldarden
said
ib test:))
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djenkins60
said
America is a plutocracy, the top 1% control 40% of the nations wealth. These few people can easily sway politacal ideas. This is a very bad thing for our country because it has the rich in mind and doesnt even consider the lower and middle classes.
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djenkins60
said
Didn’t mean to post that. I’m not done.
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djenkins60
said
America is a plutocracy, the top 1% control 40% of the nations wealth. These few people can easily sway politacal ideas. This is a very bad thing for our country because it has the rich in mind and doesnt even consider the lower and middle classes.
The only way to solve this is to stop public support of campaigning and lobbying which would be nearly impossible. By taking political capaign money you are losing your ethics and morals. “On the other hand, taking big campaign money is a Faustian bargain: you may win power but lose your political soul.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html) (http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/)
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marion10
said
From my point of view, I see America slowly fall away from the democracy principles it was once founded on. Our elected officials are puppets of the wealthy and no longer a voice for the people. More and more, corruption and greed is the mastermind behind what is pushed rather than needs for a better America.
Representative democracy (also indirect democracy or sephocracy) is a variety of democracy founded on the principle of elected officials representing a group of people, as opposed to direct democracy. Representatives are elected by the public, as in national elections for the national legislature. Elected representatives may hold the power to select other representatives, presidents, or other officers of government or of the legislature. America is slowly progressing into a plutocracy. Plutocracy is a government by the wealthy; a controlling class of the wealthy. “While the Republican and Democratic Party billionaires have some differences, what unites them is much stronger than what divides them, a few exceptions aside.” http://WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.COM/JEFFREY-SACHS/UNDERSTANDING-AND-OVERCOM_B_6113618.HTML
Indeed, many of the richest individual and corporate donors give to both parties. The much-discussed left-right polarization is not polarization at all. The political system is actually relatively united and working very effectively for the richest of the rich. Whether the Republicans or Democrats are in office, the results are little different. The interests at the top of the income distribution will prevail. http://WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.COM/JEFFREY-SACHS/UNDERSTANDING-AND-OVERCOM_B_6113618.HTML
The evidence is overwhelming that politicians vote the interests of their donors, not of society at large and taking big campaign money is a Faustian bargain: you may win power but lose your political soul. All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people: Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. Yet in all of those cases, the mass public led and the great leaders followed the cause. This is our time and responsibility to help save democracy. http://WWW.HUFFINGTONPOST.COM/JEFFREY-SACHS/UNDERSTANDING-AND-OVERCOM_B_6113618.HTML
The American that was once the America of the people is slowly disappearing and I worry that my generation and future generations to come will not be equipped to fight to secure democracy. United our voice can be loud but may be ultimately silence by pockets of the wealthy.
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kylethompson98
said
Based upon what both articles state, I’d say yes, America is evolving into this ‘plutocracy’ and drifting away from its representative democracy ways. Prior to reading the articles, I didn’t know a thing about what plutocracy was. Now after reading the articles I slightly understand it better. “One of the major themes in America today is how the wealthy use their money and position to influence policy and the idea of success.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2014/01/26/those-with-affluence-have-all-the-influence-in-america/
Based upon them saying this, we can accurately say that this would be a slight variation of the definition of the term ‘plutocracy’. Considering it is motioned to be a government governed by the wealthy. you see it all the time, political campaign ads with millions of dollars spent on them, advertisements that mean almost nothing but are still approved by our political leaders to be used. Heck, you could argue that if you’re not rich then you wont be running with the big dogs.
“The richest of the rich pay for the political system — putting in billions of dollars in campaign and lobbying funds”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
And this quote from this article just backs up the cause even more. Especially by saying that the rich place their money into the political system for campaigns and such, just like what was mentioned in the first article.
“All of these transformative successes required grass-roots activism, public protests and demonstrations, and eventually bold leaders, indeed drawn from the rich but with their hearts with the people”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/understanding-and-overcom_b_6113618.html
This appears to be one way out of this iron grasp of plutocracy. We need have our top political leaders rid there-selves of the rich minded and set them selves up as just the average person and not use all this money and maybe then we can start heading back into the direction of a representative democracy.
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manningrebekah
said
Two IB Exams:
IB Psych
IB Math Studies