Why Can't Democracy Trump Inequality?

Important article at TruthOut.org by Sam Pizzigati, Campaign for America's Future
Why Can't Democracy Trump Inequality?
Addresses the question, that amidst the doubling of the wealthiest Americans' income, "Why hasn't democracy slowed rising inequality?"

. . . .
Four political scientists are taking a crack at answering exactly this question in thecurrent issue of the American Economic Association’s Journal of Economic Perspectives, a special issue devoted to debating America’s vast gulf between the rich and everyone else.

The four analysts — Stanford’s Adam Bonica, Princeton’s Nolan McCarty, Keith Poole from the University of Georgia, and NYU’s Howard Rosenthal — lay out a nuanced reading of the American political scene that explores the interplay of a wide variety of factors, everything from the impact of the partisan gerrymandering of legislative districts to voter turnout by income level.

But one particular reality dramatically drives their analysis: Societies that let wealth concentrate at enormously intense levels will quite predictably end up with a wealthy who can concentrate enormous resources on getting their way.

These wealthy underwrite political campaigns. They spend fortunes on lobbying. They keep politicians and bureaucrats “friendly” to their interests with a “revolving door” that promises lucrative employment in the private sector.

. . . . For the beginning and the remaining parts of the news analysis piece, go to the TruthOut site.