Volgend jaar zijn er opnieuw presidentsverkiezingen in de Verenigde Staten. Terwijl Barack Obama gaat voor zijn herverkiezing moeten de Republikeinen een tegenkandidaat aanduiden. En die komt zoals gewoonlijk uit een select groepje van superrijken.
The wealthiest candidate, Mitt Romney, is worth somewhere between $190 million and $250 million. Those on the lower end of the spectrum, such as Rick Santorum and Rick Perry, are still worth at least $1 million.
Het artikel van MSNBC gaat verder met een overzicht van het fortuin per kandidaat. Amerika doet vaak trots over haar democratisch systeem, maar in feite is het toch eerder een plutocratie: de heerschappij van het grote kapitaal. John Doe maakt geen schijn van kans zonder zo’n serieuze financiële steun.
Like your design – found the site in the Thesis gallery – and I want to set up something similar for myself.
Listen, about the statement that the Republican presidential candidates come “as usual from a select group of super rich.” Far be it from me to defend the Republican candidates. And maybe they support policies that benefit the rich. But the Democratic presidents and candidates have been far richer. Kerry was the richest candidate in history. Kennedy was loaded. FDR, check. LBJ, check (though from a poor background). Teddy Roosevelt was rich, but he acted more like a Democrat than today’s Democrats, who are in thrall to the big banks. Hoover – OK, I’ll give you Hoover.
If Romney becomes president, he’ll be the second richest in history, after George Washington. Still, on average, the Democrats are wealthier. It’s that noblesse oblige, I guess.
Hey there Dan. Thank you very much for those kind words. The design of this website is an ever-changing process. Not a week goes by where I don’t change some minute detail.
As for the statement in the above article, let me add that it only focuses on Republican candidates because the democratic Obama is incumbent and therefore not being challenged inside his own party. The real action — before the actual GOP-Dem showdown — is between the opposition candidates vying for pole position.
As for my limited knowledge of US political representatives, I do get the impression that either party has a lot of representatives within the upper percentile. To many outsiders, the US is effectively becoming a plutocracy unless campaign finance reform as put in place.
And I don’t just mean to criticize the US. In my own country of Belgium, I can clearly destinguish the reemergence of political nepotism.