The structure of campaign finance, which affects all federal legislators, and the rules of the Senate, which empower small minorities to block legislation, create virtually insuperable obstacles to reform. As we have seen in both the HCR and financial institution reform efforts, financially powerful institutions will not hesitate to use these tools when their interests are threatened; and those threats for them exist whenever the status quo is changed in any material way.
Moreover, our system of highly fragmented and divided government makes accountability almost impossible. There is almost always a separate branch of government, party, chamber or institution to blame if popular measures are not enacted.
There is also an information issue, probably linked to the distortions that our campaign finance system leads to on who is ultimately elected (which affects selection and communication of important issues). People feel income inequality but are unaware the US is at the level of Uruguay and Ivory Coast. People reject asking their more affluent fellow citizens to shoulder extra financial responsibility for maintaining our national assets and infrastructure as they did in the mid 20th century, but do not connect this to deficits, debt, diminished resources for infrastructure repair, etc., nor do they appreciate that the US compares poorly in terms of social mobility to other developed countries.
Until the above issues are addressed there is not likely to be any significant reform here in the US. And the above issues are, unfortunately, unlikely to be addressed.
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