A New Dawn of Feudalism

As an American, I'm not sure exactly what we stand for or what we believe in. We used to preach democracy and liberty, while denying these rights to many. Free markets were somehow tied in to what it means to be democratic. Something I never understood. What takes priority, economics or the way in which our government works?
The Republicans have made it clear that economics is the focus and that government has no business interfering with the dealings of businesses, unless it works in the favor of an organization. Many Republicans also seem to feel that the government should not regulate certain things having to do with the everyday lives of Americans, like...say...health care.
Does the recent Republican rhetoric appeal to the average Joe? Personally, I do not think so. I feel the Republicans seek to serve the needs of the rich and it's getting scary.
My first example is my own king, Bloomberg. King Bloomberg has reigned over New York City since I was in the 8th grade. In 2002, King Bloomberg started off as a Republican mayor and later decided to become an independent. Honestly, the king of New York seems like a nice guy, but it makes me wonder where his loyalties truly lie...
In a recent New York Times article, Fernanda Santos writes that mayor Bloomberg seeks to take a new approach to cleaning up two failing schools in the Bronx. Instead of closing the schools, King Bloomberg's signature trademark, he plans on replacing half the teachers and the principal, a strategy called "a turnaround." To do things he would enlist the help of the leader of Green Dot America, which is a charter school network. Santos goes on to say that the schools would be run by the DOE but managed by Green Dot Public Schools, an organization run by Steve Barr, who also runs Green Dot. Mr. Barr has been known for "turning schools around."
It is all very strange that these extremely wealthy people have taken such a strong interest in education. What's even stranger is the dissolution of government run institutions. Perhaps they are not as efficient as they used to be, which provides the extremely wealthy with a chance to phase out these institutions and take over. It seems as though a new elite class is coming into power; one that seeks to make capitalism a form of government as opposed to an economic system that is secondary to democracy.
In New York we have a relatively likable king but in Florida, things are worse. Republican Rick Scott is a billionaire turned governor who has established himself as dictator of Florida. With a can do attitude, Mr. Scott has taken matters into his own hands without consulting the legislative body of his state. Lizette Alvarez and Gary Fineout report in a recent New York Times article that Mr. Scott sold two state owned planes without consulting senators and "rejected $2.4 billion in federal stimulus money to build a high speed rail line from Tampa to Orlando." He has also cut the education budget radically and cut taxes for the wealthy. Mr. Scott is a shady guy, who was the CEO of a large hospital chain that was involved in fraud. Now Mr. Scott is not taking no for an answer. He wants to do what he wants right now, without the consultation of other elected officials.
The world has been this way before. It seems as if we are being reverted back into the Dark Ages, when the Catholic Church drained its parishioners and owned, land wealth and knowledge. It was also a time when the Duke of so-and-so owned all the resources and the land which peasants were stuck to. It may be extreme but if government is weaker and the rich are getting richer as a result, doesn't this mean that we're experiencing a change in power? And what's worse is that they are changing things like education first, which makes me conclude that these people want to control what people learn.

You may call me a conspiracy theorist or an overzealous socialist of some sort, but I am no such thing. I do fear that our government is getting weaker and that the rich is becoming our new overlords. Personally, I'm in favor of a stronger government that would not let us all become their bitches. (Please pardon the curse word. I have been holding back.)