Elliot,

I would be interested to hear what you have to say about the post I made on this topic. As I stated, I do believe this country is a democracy, simply because we have the freedom to choose who is in power. If we don't like someone, we can easily vote him/her out of office (nice seeing ya, Gary Condit).

Yes, most (?) decisions that are made by the president and Congress favor the rich. But another great thing about our country is that anybody that wants can BECOME rich. The rich have a much louder voice than anybody in this country. They know that, the middle class knows that, and the lower class knows that. So why don't more people become rich? I have been beating this point to death in my posts here, but I'll say it again. We live in a free country, and if people want, they can reach the highest levels. Clearly, this will be more difficult for some than for others, but there are many CEO's who have worked their way from the bottom to make it to the top. And while it is true that there is serious discrimination against some groups, this can also be overcome by the people.

-Britt