The government is not very different from organized crime.

The American government is made of electives chosen by citizens, this is true in the story-book sense but let's be realistic. Things happen behind closed doors. The United States government is not controlled completely by the people in a real sense. At least not the poor people. The people with money, those are the people who matter. Let's not bring up the issue of the Bush election. A republican who won again, when countless democrats wanted him out of office. But republicans are all about the money and in this country money is power. In my opinion taxes are like extortion. Now what is extortion, extortion is "demanding or obtaining property from another through the use of threats, coercion, or intimidation. This can include threats of physical harm or some form of blackmail such as threats to cause harm to one's reputation, livelihood, marriage etc." http://criminal-law.freeadvice.com... Now what is tax money use for? "The federal government uses your tax dollars to support Social Security, health care, national defense and social services such as food stamps and housing." http://www.sctax.org... In reality, there are criminals who protect stores from other criminals but receiving a form of payment from the store owner. It could be considered a mutual agreement. Citizens pay taxes to pay for the things listed above, but really is that all that tax money is going to? I believe Obama even admitted that his salary was paid for by citizens, and if he receives good health care, his citizens should as well. Bottom line is, we pay taxes as a mutual agreement, just as those who are extorted pay for a mutual agreement. In the end, both parties receive something out of it, although each party may not be fully comfortable with the situation. As for the power structure, I defiantly believe that it is similar. The Mafia in Italy was more of a monarch, but the American mafias are defiantly similar to the structure of American government. As I said before, the foot soldiers compare to the soldiers of America and policemen. They keep things in line and do the dirty work. They murdering and the handling of those who refuse to abide by the rules. They work they way up becoming made men, in American government's situation, high politicians. The more respect you gain, the better your rank. Policemen and solider rank up to lts, sgts, and possibly higher. The first president of the United States, George Washington, was a general of the army. Here is a list of presidents who served in the military before becoming president. http://en.wikipedia.org... Even so when you become the president, it may appear that you have the most power but you don't. The president's power can always be over ruled by congress. He can be impeached. Just as with organized crime, if the family feels as though the Don is not doing a great job he can be taken care of and gotten rid of. And the Rule of Law Sure we can believe that we punish citizens on rules and system of justice. This is what we appear to do. There are countless citizens punished for reasons that are unjustified. Justice is not always served. The government punishes those who they want to be punished. Why are so many criminals let go? Because they choose what is sufficient evidence and reasons to punish a person and what is not. The same goes for organized crime. They choose who needs to be taken care of, or taught a lesson, and who doesn't. In reality, the two organizations connect on this subject. Why has organized crime taken place and held a stronghold in America for so long? Because the government makes deals with them and chooses who to punish and who not to. If justice was truly to be served on American soil, the government would not allow organized crime to occur for as long as it has in this country, but instead they make deals and turn their heads in order to benefit.