1) He's not blaming the tax-system. He's blaming the rate setting system. 2) How is that intellectually lazy? It seems like a perfectly reasonable point of vie

1) He's not blaming the tax-system. He's blaming the rate setting system. 2) How is that intellectually lazy? It seems like a perfectly reasonable point of view to me: fixing the system to remove the lead would cost money. Since rates are too low, the money isn't available to do that. He's not saying the status quo is acceptable. He's pointing out what is necessary to fix it.