Former US president: US is run by oligarchs

Former US president: US is run by oligarchs
http://english.irib.ir/analysis/commentaries/item/213616-former-us-president-us-is-run-by-oligarchs
Sunday, 02 August 2015 06:26

In the run-up to US presidential elections, the issue of cash and its impact of the political life in the US have once again come to the fore. The former US president, Jimmy Carter, has admitted that the US regime is corrupt, undemocratic, and founded on oligarchy. He has criticized the status quo in the US and has pointed out that unlimited political briberies have led to the downward spiral of the US political system.

According to statistical figures, throughout US elections, the main decision-makers are not the voters and are in fact the wealthy figures. For instance, throughout the year 2012 presidential vote, the two Republican and Democrat presidential hopefuls spent roughly 1.16 trillion USD, and Barack Obama remained in White House due to allocation of a staggering sum on his presidential campaign. Meanwhile, giant companies helped finance the election campaigns of the Democrat and Republican candidates, running for president.

Upon the approval of an act at the US Supreme Court, which allows the allocation of an unlimited amount of funds for the presidential hopefuls, it seems as though the presidential campaigns will be flooded with huge flow of cash in the run-up to the 2016 presidential vote. Upon the approval of the said act, the well-off Americans, giant companies, and several lobbies in the US are permitted to finance the nominees and political parties in an unrestricted manner. Undoubtedly, in return for the financial aid, the winners in elections are duty-bound to make up for the finance of their presidential campaigns by the superrich. For instance, on several occasions, the major fund raisers for the presidential campaigns are appointed at the helm of ministries, upon the victory of their presidential hopeful, despite the lack of any expertise in the related field.

Meanwhile, the financial deals and bribery of politicians in the US are not just limited to election campaigns. In fact, lobbies pay tidy sums of cash to Congressmen or statesmen to win their support for the clients of these lobbies, which are in fact giant companies and the superrich. These hugely wealthy figures maintain a wealth equivalent to the wealth of half of the American people. These well-off figures spend huge sums to influence the US politicians.

The fact of the matter is that the US political system has turned into the rule of the oligarchy. This fact has even sparked the protest of one of the former US presidents.

MR/MG