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There’s a good book “The Dictator’s Handbook” that proposed the Selectorate Theory that explains this, among other things. The complex tax code is a feature, no

There’s a good book “The Dictator’s Handbook” that proposed the Selectorate Theory that explains this, among other things. The complex tax code is a feature, not a bug. And I don’t just mean that Intuit is profiting off of the complexity, although that is also true. Politicians care about staying in office, rewarding their supporters, and maybe implementing prosocial policies. In that order. So tax cuts for the wealthy aren’t because they think it’s good for the economy, they are kickbacks for support. Every single tax deduction and carve out is a reward to the winning coalition at a particular time. We see this with farm subsidies, which are more of a vestige at this point, but at one time farmers were an important demographic. When politicians get into office they reward their supporters. The book is a lot better than I am at explaining it all, so I recommend reading it or watching the Rules for Rulers video on YouTube.

nebula8804 2y ago
All of this is enabled by the ability to print money and not have the painful consequences that other countries have to deal with. What happens when this is no longer the case? All this old cruft (farm bill for example) will cause a collapse. What would that even look like?
- judge2020 2y ago
  > old cruft I don't see it as old cruft, farming still exists and buying their block is important.
  - nebula8804 2y ago
    Subsidizing farmers to grow garbage that makes people unhealthy or provides a inefficient fuel that nobody wants is probably the clearest definition of cruft. That what the subsidies do. They enable production of unprofitable crops like corn and soybeans. Then the farmers turn around and vote against the interests of the majority of the country. Its is a clear motivator of eventual collapse.
- janalsncm 2y ago
  These principles are still true in countries that don’t control their currency. In fact being bankrupt is one of the most guaranteed ways of losing power. The issue is, any politician who says they’re going to spend less and tax more will lose to the guy who says not to worry about it. That’s why every government loves increasing the national debt.

nebula8804 2y ago

All of this is enabled by the ability to print money and not have the painful consequences that other countries have to deal with. What happens when this is no longer the case? All this old cruft (farm bill for example) will cause a collapse. What would that even look like?

judge2020 2y ago
> old cruft I don't see it as old cruft, farming still exists and buying their block is important.
- nebula8804 2y ago
  Subsidizing farmers to grow garbage that makes people unhealthy or provides a inefficient fuel that nobody wants is probably the clearest definition of cruft. That what the subsidies do. They enable production of unprofitable crops like corn and soybeans. Then the farmers turn around and vote against the interests of the majority of the country. Its is a clear motivator of eventual collapse.
janalsncm 2y ago
These principles are still true in countries that don’t control their currency. In fact being bankrupt is one of the most guaranteed ways of losing power. The issue is, any politician who says they’re going to spend less and tax more will lose to the guy who says not to worry about it. That’s why every government loves increasing the national debt.