From here: Influence of Big Money A handful of wealthy donors dominate electoral giving and spending in the United States. We need limits on campaign finance, transparency, and effective enforcement of these rules — along with public financing. But, will we ever get them. Unlikely. What politicians have you ever heard proposing to Raise Taxation Levels on the Rich? Only two or three. Nobody gets paid by BigMoney to vote for a particular person. The money is spent in the usual ways to get people elect, typically speechmaking and newspaper coverage and of course TV. And it works. We actually believe the BullShat being fed us. And for as long as that "works" for BigMoney, it will keep the Congressional powers in place that will never ever raise taxation rates to where they were before JFK started to drop them. Above 90% ... PS: History of Federal Tax Rates in graphic here.
DOING SOMETHING ABOUT TAXATION? BUT WHAT? Further reading on Taxation in America here: Tackling the Tax Code Excerpt: The above makes for one helluva lotta reading ... !
Once again, taxation is not about the wealthy versus the poor! What politicians have you ever heard proposing to Raise Taxation Levels on the Poor? In the US, spending is out of control, debt is out of control, and NO ONE wants to pay a penny more in taxation. Many of the States and Cities can't even fund their needs without federal government assistance. So...who is really to blame?
ULTRA-HIGH-NET-WORTH INDIVIDUALS Yes, spending it out of control at the DoD in a country that has no reason to mount a Massive Defense. Russia is no Great Enemy any more. And when the wealthy do not pay their Fair Share of taxation, that simply makes them the Ultra Rich, of which the US has no need whatsoever. From here: The World's Number of Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals You remain blind to the factual evidence that the rich and ultra-rich do not pay sufficiently high-taxation - like a great many of us Yanks who refuse the factual evidence .... !
Spending is out of control in all departments. Or perhaps the US should be spending much more? No one really knows...do they? The ONLY thing that would be accomplished if the wealthy paid another $500 billion in taxation is a TEMPORARY reduction in deficit spending...there would be no other effect! And even this extra $500 billion will soon be spent on something...
Taxation is one topic. Big money donors is another. You have brought both into the OP. I am not so sure that taxation is the over arching issue. For me, it's Big money donors, PACs, etc. If you want to see a difference in politics and hence, governance, you have to get dark money out of politics. The only way to do that is to revisit the "Citizen's United" ruling. To do that you would have to change the make up of SCOTUS. That's going to take a long time unless they add SCOTUS seats, so I think it's here to stay for decades.