Mills is basically right!

Unlike pluralists, C Wright Mills argues that the government has become increasingly cetralized. While states used to have more autonomy and participated in a true federation of states, power is now highly centralized and federalized. I think this is evident in the passing of the No Child Left Behind Act. This was a federal legislation regarding education, a task traditionally left for the States to manage. In this case, mandates were placed regarding education. The federal government will withdraw their financial support from school systems that do not implement the changes required by NCLB. This is exacerbated by the fact that the high rate of federal income tax means that state governments do not have a high enough tax base that they can use to fund large initiatives without the help of the federal government. The net effect is a type of coersion that aptly illustrates Mills' point.
Mills also argues for a power elite that runs our country. I think that this power elite consists of the elected government officials as well as the large corporations and business men who support them and on whom officials rely for financial support for thie re-election campaigns. Campaign finance reform including greater accountability for funding sources, better methods of disemminating real campaign information at a low cost (i.e. subsidized, unbiased TV stations), and other reforms could help move our country from oligarchy to democracy!