Fundamental economic change may be coming to the US

Can a tiny but immensely wealthy minority keep economic policies in place that favor them at the expense of the public, and at the same time prevent much needed economic reforms that threaten their power?

Indeed they can -- arguably, it's what the opponents of President Obama's New Deal-like policies are trying to do right now. This small segment of society has been effective at delaying economic changes repeatedly throughout the modern era and especially since the start of the Reagan presidency in 1981.