The whole shooting match is dysfunctional in any case.
And I can't see how it will last much longer. For how long can a "democratic society" stand where 1/5th of the people have 4+/5ths of the wealth? This Wall Street occupation thingy might actually be the start of something. If it is, it's going to get messy.
Like I told a physician friend of mine 25 years ago, "You can share some of what you have now and keep most of it. Or you can share nothing and they will come and take it all."
What is clear is that Washington is only functioning for the top 20%. At some point, even the Tea Party crackers will realize they aren't in that fifth. And then we're all in trouble.