Due to the nature of elections in 21^st Century America, moneyed interests exert influence at all levels, out of proportion to their votes. The two dominant political parties concentrate power further. Critics claim the political process is under the influence of Corporatism, a modern form of oligarchy. One percent of the people control the vast majority of the wealth, business and government in America. A vast assemblage of lobbyists occupies Washington D.C., using money to influence legislators and bureaucrats.  Legal and illegal influence has a corrupting effect. On international scales the US government is rated as mostly free of corruption, but still ranks 24^th of 182 countries listed in the Corruption Perception Index by Transparency International. The US trails the majority of OECD countries on this scale.

The influence of the media has been concentrated into a few corporations, each with their own agendas. Polarizing information flow has created a chasm between liberal (internet, MSNBC, NPR) and conservative (talk radio, Fox News, Wall St. Journal) viewpoints.

A 5-4 2010 Supreme Court decision, “Citizens United,” allowed unlimited corporate political activism. This effectively gutted campaign reforms attempted over the past decade, notably the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and the Federal Election Commission. Negative campaigning via third party SuperPACs ballooned in the 2012 elections but in the aftermath of Obama’s reelection seems to have been largely ineffective.

Citizens are disillusioned. Only a bare majority vote. Many don’t even register. In the 2008 presidential election the final tally was 70 million to 60 million. That meant out of 220 million citizens eligible to vote, 90 million stayed home. That would be enough to elect “none of the above.”  In 2012 only 126 million voted. Few study the issues or can explain why they support the candidates they vote for. Polling predicts the outcome of every election. Every election sees claims of illegal registrations, voter suppression and rigged counts. Even after the vote counting fiasco in 2000, the Help America Vote Act produced a system with no paper trail and no ability to recount or audit results.