Letter: Democracy hasnât fared well in America, but things are looking up FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2021, file photo, workers install razor wire atop fencing around the U.S. Capitol perimeter at sunset, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) By Tom Huckin | The Public Forum   | April 3, 2021, 12:00 p.m. In a recent letter, Frank Fish notes that the United States is no democracy but a âbadly run plutocracy.â He correctly singles out the U.S. Senate as being especially undemocratic, in that it has two seats for each state regardless of population. But itâs much worse than that.