The Paradox of American Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Paradox of American Government - Essay Example he fragmentation of power within the federal framework has meant that certain influential groups have come forward to manipulate this in their own favor. Consequently, the government seems lethargic and often unresponsive in dealing with majority demands as it bows to other pressures. The move to occupy Wall Street clearly signifies how this political attitude is now affecting citizen and voter participation in the overall political process. After the financial failure of large financial institutions, the federal government underwent bailout and rescue packages to protect these institutions. Now that these businesses are recovering, the people at the helm of affairs in these institutions are using unethical practices to reward themselves. This very issue had already caused a failure of the economic system. Calls to ensure greater transparency and accountability at Wall Street went unheeded by the federal government. Consequently disillusioned citizens and voters came together in order to coerce the government into acceding to their demands through a show of strength at Wall Street (Apps, 2011). Disappointment with the political process has two major affects for the average citizen, one that the average citizen fails to be interested in the voting process anymore (Dalton, 2006) and two that the average citizen tries to take power into his/her own hands to defend his interests. The fact that citizens are less and less interested in the political process has been related for a few decades now (Powell, 1986). Overall citizen participation in the voting process has been on the decline progressively as citizens especially from marginalized groups fail to see any point in voting when their demands will not be met with. Already the American democratic process is under threat from large gaps in voter turnout through various factors such as income, length of residence, ethnicity, educational achievement and age (AGTP, 2010). Also there are threats emerging to voter turnout