Charles Hugh Smith – To understand the U.S. tax code and the endless charade of tax reform, we have to start with four distasteful realities:

1. Ours is not a representational democracy, it’s a political auction in which wealth casts the votes that count. Those seeking political influence over issues such as taxation place their bids in the political auction via campaign contributions and lobbying. The winner of the political auction gets favorable treatment, and everyone else ends up subsidizing the gains of the winner.

2. The wealthy pay the vast majority of federal income taxes (as opposed to payroll taxes, i.e. Social Security and Medicare), so tax cuts end up benefiting the wealthy. Continue reading →