My thoughts exactly - the problem the author is alleging isn't that these things exist, it's summarized in his last paragraph:
A highly complex and largely discrete set of laws and exemptions from laws has been put in place by those in the uppermost reaches of the U.S. financial system. It allows them to protect and increase their wealth and significantly affect the U.S. political and legislative processes. They have real power and real wealth. Ordinary citizens in the bottom 99.9% are largely not aware of these systems, do not understand how they work, are unlikely to participate in them, and have little likelihood of entering the top 0.5%, much less the top 0.1%. Moreover, those at the very top have no incentive whatsoever for revealing or changing the rules.
In other words - the alleged problem is that you can't fix this tax stuff even if you wanted to because the people in control are the ones benefiting (and most other people aren't aware / don't care enough).
I'm not taking a position either way, just clarifying what the author is saying.
A highly complex and largely discrete set of laws and exemptions from laws has been put in place by those in the uppermost reaches of the U.S. financial system. It allows them to protect and increase their wealth and significantly affect the U.S. political and legislative processes. They have real power and real wealth. Ordinary citizens in the bottom 99.9% are largely not aware of these systems, do not understand how they work, are unlikely to participate in them, and have little likelihood of entering the top 0.5%, much less the top 0.1%. Moreover, those at the very top have no incentive whatsoever for revealing or changing the rules.
In other words - the alleged problem is that you can't fix this tax stuff even if you wanted to because the people in control are the ones benefiting (and most other people aren't aware / don't care enough).
I'm not taking a position either way, just clarifying what the author is saying.