One of the things I did was watch a movie (available from Netflix, etc.,) called "Capitalism:A Love Story". While many regard Michael Moore as a crack-pot, I think this is one of his documentaries that people SHOULD take the time to watch. I never stopped to think before that concepts like 'Democracy' and 'Capitalism' are not synonymous and learned a new term coined by the Citicorp Group: 'Plutonomy'.

In this film, Michael Moore highlighted a confidential report that Citigroup initially circulated to only its wealthiest customers. Those reports, since leaked, plainly discuss the power of Plutonomy in America, and how it would only strengthen, as long as "the rest us" (the non-plutonics) could be kept in the dark about the Plutonomy's existence, its role, and its over-arching control in the American Economy.

"Spending by the uber-rich overwhelms that of the average consumer and helps explain why the U.S. economy has continued to do well and the U.S. dollar hasn't collapsed even in the face of the current federal budget deficit, a negative savings rate, global imbalances and high energy prices, he says. The United States is one of the plutonomy countries whose economies are powered by a relatively small number of rich people.

"Even though the Plutonomy (the top 1%) control over 50% of the net worth in America -- they don't control the Votes!
The thing they most fear is the principle of "one person -- one vote".

"You see despite their extreme wealth and power, they only have 1% of the vote; "the rest us" control the other 99% of the votes. So if we ever caught on and, I don't know, maybe raised their taxes back to where it used to be (40-90% range), well maybe they couldn't have a Yacht in every city, or a Mansion in a half dozen states. Maybe they couldn't "lose count" of how many homes they owned.

"Risks -- What Could Go Wrong?
The whole plutonomy thesis is based on the idea that the rich will keep getting richer. This thesis is not without its risks. For example, a policy error leading to asset deflation would likely damage plutonomy. Furthermore, the rising wealth gap between the rich and poor will probably at some point lead to a political backlash (Like Occupy Wall Street maybe?) Whilst the rich are getting a greater share of the wealth, and the poor a lesser share, political enfranchisement remains as was -- one person, one vote (in the plutonomies)."

I encourage you to see this film. It is most enlightening and in typical Michel Moore style, quite entertaining as well.

P.S.: Bear with me while I "catch up" and get out Christmas gifts and cards. It will be a few days before I can catch up on your posts.