[mola]

Wealth is power. When you have enough and the rest don't, it's inevitable you will use it for political power.

This obsession with anti government sentiment that Americans have gives them a blind spot for the fact the power accumulation in the hands of the few is the problem. Not government.

How exactly could you stop so called 'wealth laundering'?

[mfuzzey]

Some abuse of wealth for political power may be inevitable but some countries are a lot better at limiting it than others.

For example here in France the amount of money politicians can spend on campaigning is strictly limited (and reimbursed by the state for those that pass a certain threshold of the vote). I'm not saying that it's perfect or that abuse doesn't sometimes still occur (as the current court case involving ex president Sarkozy shows) but I think it does improve things a lot.

Contrast that with the American system where to have any chance of becoming president (no matter which party you support) you basically have to be rich. And where multiple lobbyists and special interest groups basically buy the policies they want...