The average citizen really believes that they live in a democracy, of which, they further believe that therefore ballot propositions, as well as their representatives, represent together with legislation so enacted, the voice of the people. The truth of the matter is disappointedly and diametrically different; as an awful lot of meaningful ballot propositions aren't really placed there by activist groups of the people, but rather are to a significant extent, put together by what appears to be grassroots social groups, of which in reality these are typically discreetly funded by corporations, or oligarchs specifically to protect as well as to enhance their own interests. As for representatives, their desire to get elected, as well as to thereupon to get re-elected, is often tied to donations so received, and thereby to a very large extent, are representatives that are quite susceptible to being influenced and are thereby influenced by monies that support specific agendas, that often run against good public desires and are to the degree possible, non-transparent.
All of the above represents the salient reasons, that the type of fundamental and meaningful change that so many of the people clamor for, year after year, doesn't ever occur, and quite frankly was never going to occur, because powerful vested interests are going to, more times than not, simply not permit such. Even worse, when a particular legislative law is passed which does not meet with the approval of those powerful interests, this is often beaten back by circumventing the spirit of the law, if not outright ignoring such, through endless litigation, and other avenues of delay, so as to eventually overturn those new regulations by the passage of something that effectively neutralizes such.
The bottom line is that those that have money as well as power are not in the sharing business, and therefore they make it their point of principle to do everything possible to maintain their control and to use their considerable influence in opposition to the people; of which, they will utilize whatever subterfuge that they can use, over and above, simply directing their money and pressure upon those that will bend to their will. Further to the point, the more opaque the political process can be via the lack of transparency in regards to political action groups, donations, and the registration thereof, the easier it is for even a single person, with money, to thereby get their way, by deceiving the public, through sophisticated and well researched social media efforts, targeted advertising, as well as respected figureheads parroting their desires.
So too, powerful interests are very good and adept at penetrating valid organizations that are opposed to them, so that they can know every move, that the opposition is going to make, and thereby counter it effectively or even possibly to influence its policy. In all things, those in power, do not often voluntarily relinquish such, and even in those countries that are ostensibly of, for, and by the people, those elites, will work every angle within that system, so as to bend all the rules to their favor, as well as to mitigate any and everything that could conceivably hurt them. Again and again, the people's voice is marginalized, by those powerful interests undercutting any fundamental change that is so desired by the people, signifying that the meaningful change for the better and for the people will seldom, if ever, happen.