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Us : Oligarchy Or Republic?

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US: Oligarchy or Republic? In America, we pride ourselves on being a democracy and having choices, when in fact, it is only a political illusion. In the Constitution of the United States (which we are all held accountable to abide by), it states that we are a republic with regard to the people’s desire to be a democracy, yet there is much evidence that leans towards America being an oligarchy. While a republic is a country which elects representatives to make government decisions on their behalf, an oligarchy is a system in which a small group of people controls the country. The debate of American being an oligarchy assumes that elites have power in many aspects of government, such as the Electoral College and the election process, …show more content…

The Congress make up the Legislative branch, which is in charge of making bills that potentially turn into laws (Congress and California Legislation lecture). These Congressmen are also a part of the electors in the Electoral College, which has the power to choose the President with a majority vote. While electors are usually inclined to vote in accordance with the people they represent, they can instead vote in opposition if they think that it is a better vote for the people (Soni 2012). In the past election, even though Hillary Clinton won the popular vote, Donald Trump won the Presidency with the majority votes from the Electoral College (Krieg 2017). Thus, the many elites in the Legislative branch, have the power to make bills and elect the president regardless of what the people want. Similarly, elites have power in the Executive branch, which is composed of the President and his cabinet. The current President, Donald Trump is an elite for many reasons. He inherited family money (including a $1 million loan from his father to start a business) and his father’s real estate company. He also has fame and fortune from developing well-known buildings, such as Trump Place. He is also a successful businessman as he owned Miss Universe, Miss USA, and Miss Teen USA for 20 years. He also got paid $213 million for his presence on NBC’s television show, “The Apprentice.” Furthermore, Forbes states that his net

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