My favorite Founding Father is John Adams. For many reasons, but mostly for his practical brilliance and for the fact that he did not, and would not, suffer fools.  I love that characteristic. Also, particularly compared to his high-minded collaborator, Thomas Jefferson, Adams was not a believer of the ridiculous concept of American exceptionalism. John Adams felt that a trend towards an oligarchy was an inevitable outcome of all forms of government and that there was nothing unique about the United States that would keep the grasping aristocrats in line. Well, once again, Adams has been proven correct and we are in it now.

The current form of government of the United States is an oligarchy. On its face, the US is a democratic republic, in that, at all levels of government, the voting populace elects representatives to pass laws and to govern. However, in reality, those voters are unduly influenced by a small minority of wealthy, inordinately powerful men and women. This influence has been used to utilize outlets of the mass media to confuse voters to vote against their own interests and to enrich and enhance this small cabal of the wealthy. Also, under this administration, important government agencies have been given over to sycophants and morons with predictable results.

Since we live under one, perhaps we should discuss oligarchies in a little detail. What is an oligarchy? An oligarchy is a form of government where the power rests with a small number individuals or families. Some current examples of oligarchies include Russia, where Putin’s power is supported by a powerful group of billionaires whose wealth grew out of control of minerals, oil, and industry after the fall of communism. The ruling families of Saudi Arabia are an excellent example of a modern oligarchy. The wealthy Saudi families control almost all of the wealth and all of the power in that desert country. Even in Saudi Arabia, however, the ruling family is currently moving to consolidate power to themselves and eliminate the other families from rule. Saudi Arabia may soon move from an oligarchy to a dictatorship.

To be clear, the US oligarchy is really a plutocracy. A plutocracy is a specialized oligarchy where the small number of ruling individuals are all wealthy. Hard to argue with that when you look at the influence of the Koch brothers, Sheldon Anderson, or Steve Bannon’s guardian angel, Robert Mercer.

In almost every facet of government, a plutocracy represents the antithesis of the vision of “every man is created equal”. The rich, ruling elite use the country’s riches to enhance themselves and their class. Income inequality is continually exacerbated with the super rich benefiting from the government’s laws and practices, while the middle class is destroyed and the poor suffer. Recognizing any trends? Perhaps the most despicable aspect of plutocracy rule is the erosion of the role of merit in advancing in government, commerce, or society in general. You see, the ruling class in a plutocracy tend to keep the power and wealth to themselves and, well, we’ve seen the talents and abilities of their offspring.

A quick look at recent history will help us identify some important markers in our journey towards this unenviable place where we find ourselves. Personally, I identify our pivot towards “rich power” with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. His philosophy of government as the enemy and his administration’s tax policies set us on our way. The Clinton presidency’s unfettering Wall street regulations and the Bush tax cuts further exacerbated income inequality while the Supreme Court decisions on Citizens United and McCutcheon vs. FEC gave the rich an outsized voice in our elections. Other important developments in the recent devolution of our form of government include over a half century of weakening the voice and power of unions and the growth of the mass media empire of that Australian scourge of honest journalism, Rupert Murdoch. There are too many factors to adequately cover in this essay, suffice to say that in 1980 this country had a choice to either move towards greater economic equality and a strong middle class or towards concentrating society’s wealth in a few grasping hands. We chose.

So, this is what we’ve got. The richest 1% of our society own more than half of the country’s wealth. Their income rose more than 400% over the last 25 years and 2/3rds of that income came into the hands of the top 0.1%. The richest 0.1% own about as much wealth as the lower 90% of Americans combined. Stop and consider that statement for a moment – 115,000 households own as much wealth as approximately 270 million Americans. It takes over $20 million to be in this group, and that’s at the bottom end. They have been the primary beneficiaries of every tax cut in the last 35 years and they are on the receiving end for the largest tax cut in Our Leader’s tax bill. Let’s make sure they get it – they’ve certainly earned it.

These rich elites are responsible for placing certified morons in charge of the Departments of Energy and Housing, a charter school fanatic in charge of Education, and a bag man for the Koch brothers and the fossil fuel industry at the head of the EPA. They control, through the media and the PACs, the Congressional leadership and all Republican members of Congress. Also, most of the Democrats. The list goes on and it’s a long list.

The problems and solutions for US governance still reside with the voter. It is a fact of history, though, that oligarchies have grown out of democracies when government is seen by the populace as too complicated. If the voters will not put forth the effort to understand the issues and their impact of their own lives, then an oligarchy becomes inevitable. I am reminded, once again, of Benjamin Franklin’s pithy response when asked as he was leaving the Constitutional Convention, “Well, Doctor, what have we a Republic or a Monarchy?”  He replied, “A Republic, if you can keep it”.

Doesn’t look promising, Ben.