It often seems that people on the right claim government is the problem and over-regulation is stifling business while people on the left claim capitalism and corporations are the problem. I think Big Business and Big Government are largely hand-in-fist. The revolving door between the two, dependence of politicians on big donors, lobbyists writing legislation, subsidies and pork, etc. show that the two are in large part working together. Sure, there are some regs that actually protect the consumer/environment but there are loads that protect vested interests against the consumer and against competition.

I believe that concentrated power is always, always, always a problem. It is true that power corrupts. It is an addiction and will always try to protect itself and grow its influence. One of the great (perhaps the greatest) virtues of our system of government is its division of powers, and checks and balances. It tried to keep any one person or party or group from achieving total power. But because of capitalism and the concentration of wealth (and thus power)it has spawned, it has been unable to break up the power sufficiently. We now have an oligarchy, not a democracy.

I don’t want to tax the rich because I envy them (let them have their mansions and yachts and art collections). I want to tax the rich to keep them from gaining unfair advantage both in the marketplace and in the halls of government (rent-seeking legislation, monopolies, strangling start ups, controlling who gets elected with campaign contributions, owning major media outlets and controlling what even gets debated, funding “scientific” studies that deny climate change and say opioids aren’t addictive, etc.). Government can (and should) be a check on the concentration of money/power, but it currently has been captured by vested interests. It is aiding in the concentration of wealth/power, not fighting it. I’m not sure if it is recoverable at this stage or not.