You're right. A democratic oligarchy is essentially letting us choose who gets to be paid for ripping us off. The few with good intentions are constantly outnumbered.
Used to, one could rely on the thought of "Well, if it really gets bad, the people will have to band together to fix it."
But with how our military tech has progressed, along with some very effective propagandizing, I don't see the folks in that situation putting up a very good fight anymore.
We're not, now.