Essay - America 1. Wealth and Power are Positively Correlated in American...

America

1. Wealth and power are positively correlated in American society. People in power are almost invariably wealthy, and the wealthy have access to more avenues of political as well as purchasing power. A cursory glance at the White House indicates that wealth and power are demonstrably linked: George W. Bush comes from a history of Texan aristocrats, ***** Cheney has amassed great personal fortune from his business investments. Politicians who started *****f poor invariably become wealthy once they make it into positions of power because of the intimate tie between government and ***** in the United States. Few if any leaders in ***** history have disavowed a m*****terialistic l*****estyle.

Outside the ***** realm, ordinary citizens demonstrate the close connection between wealth and power. The wealthy have the ability to hire strong lawyers and ***** *****refore more able ***** master the judicial system when they are arrested, sued, or charged with a crime. As ***** result, the ***** receive lesser prison sentences; white collar crimes, although they involve massive amounts of money, ***** rarely met with more than a symbolic "slap on the wrist." Similarly, wealthy celebrities are able to deal their way out of legal problems. On the c*****trary, American prisons ***** filled with the ***** and politically disenfranchised. Being placed in prison exacerbates ***** poverty, entrenching ***** poor in systems of criminality and preventing them ***** finding viable work or livelihoods ***** their sentences are complete. Therefore, the ***** stay poor while the wealthy get richer.

More broadly, the relationship between wealth and power is evident in our consumer society. Large corporations own almost all forms of mass media. Because of the *****ful influence of the television media on American consciousness, the *****y control social norms and values in ***** country. There are few exceptions to the rule that wealth equals power in America. Notable writers like Henry David Thoreau, for instance, eschewed ***** wealth but his books became *****ful in their own right.

2. ***** business interests influence and shape *****n foreign policy in the United *****. The ways in which ***** United States acts *****ward other nations is usually an expression of business interests. Occasionally the reverse ***** also true. For example, ***** United States has a trading embargo with Cuba; no goods or services including tourism c***** flow between the two nations. Therefore, no Ameri*****an corporation can extend its market to the Cuban people, ***** likewise, no ***** corporation can buy or sell products ***** the American market. ***** business practices must follow *****s of law and trade agreements, business in America often follows foreign policy. When trade agreements favor cheap tariffs, then goods ***** services flow freely between nations; ***** the ***** States imposes heavy taxes on goods coming from certain nations, then trade with that nation will be restricted and vice versa.

*****, more often is the case in ***** American bus*****ess interests shape ***** foreign policy. The war in Iraq is arguably ab***** American oil interests, and ***** foreign policy throughout *****