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Complexity is deliberate in affairs of state. It provides politicians and lobbyists with power and secrecy.
by ckinnan 18y ago
Complexity is deliberate in affairs of state. It provides politicians and lobbyists with power and secrecy.
- DanielBMarkham 18y agoUpmod on the parent for insight. Criminal law has reached the point that cops can jail/get rid of about anybody they choose -- as long as the person doesn't have a lot of money. Tax law is so complex that only the super-rich (and perhaps chairman of the House Financial Services Committee that writes the tax code) can comfortably avoid most taxation. The rest of us are left in a murky "best-guess" status as to what is allowed or not. Back when the U.S. was getting started, many wanted a complex government like the Europeans had. Thomas Paine, a firebrand, warned against such complexity. When a tyrant oppresses you, he said, you know exactly whom to blame. When a complex government oppresses you, there is no one person to blame, and you continue to be more and more oppressed.