In principle, every American citizen has an equal say in our political process. In practice, of course, some of us are more equal than others.
Billionaires can field armies of lobbyists; they can finance think tanks that put the desired spin on policy issues; they can funnel cash to politicians with sympathetic views (as the Koch brothers did in the case of Mr. Walker).
On paper, we’re a one-person-one-vote nation.
In reality, we’re more than a bit of an oligarchy,
in which a handful of wealthy people dominate.
-Economist P. Krugman, Feb. 2011