VCheng
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I would argue that it used to work...more or less as intended at its inception..and has deteriorated ever since...
...with more and more loopholes...human nature creeping in...finding ways to corrupt the system for self benefit.
Just to name a few examples...
Tax loopholes...where some of the biggest corporations and billionaires pay 0 taxes(or close to it...much less than their actual share). I highly doubt that the founding fathers had this in mind.
Internet/Cable companies...having divided areas among themselves as some sort of drug cartels. Eliminating competition and so they get to dictate the price...whereas ppl have no choice but to pay that for some abysmal service...having no other options...and yes...that's somehow legal for them to do so.
Things like super PACs allowing millions of dollars to be funneled(basically bribery under a garb to make it legal) to politicians. The founding fathers didn't create a clause for a super PAC anywhere.
Congress trying to stack up the supreme court judges according to their ideology. IIRC...recent example being Mitch McConnell leading a bunch of senators to block(not approve/delay) Obama's pick and instead waiting around until his term ends and a Republican president could be elected...and publically admitting so.
...I personally don't care whether a right wing supreme court judge gets appointed...or a left wing...it's just the dirty politics at play...abusing the system...that's appalling.
I've already mentioned things like Betsy Devos being appointed...almost bordering on oligarchy...
...then there's all the financial abuse...like corporations gaming the system...and basically getting away with it paying peanuts in "fines" compared to what they earn through their shady practices. A major example was the 2008 economic crisis...
...a relatively minor but more recent example(compared to the 2008 economic crisis) is that of Wells Fargo...
...where they fake inflated their worth by opening unauthorized multiple accounts for ppl...soaring the stock price earning millions for those at the top. Then when they got caught...they pinned it on branch managers and other lower level employees...paying a fine that paled in comparison to what they made.
These are just a few examples...I could think off the top of my head. There's much much more...
...the further back u look...the less the system seems gamed(an exception maybe the time slightly before the square deal).
As I said above, the system is not perfect, but it works pretty well overall. And it will continue to refine and improve itself, as it has done since its inception.
For all of the examples that you mention:
The tax system remains highly progressive, with the richest people paying most of the taxes:
Corporations do pay taxes, and the taxation rate has to be balanced between revenue demands and ensuring that US companies remain globally competitive.
Campaign financing can definitely be improved, I agree. However, the talk of stacking the Supreme Court has just been that - talk -a nd no more.
The other things you mention are more political than anything else, and it remains contentious by design. Federal regulations covering the stock market, insurance and mortgage industries etc can be improved, but the US system overall remains one of the best in the world. No wonder it is the biggest wealth generating country in the history of mankind.
Here is a litmus test for all this worry that you express: Look for a similar sized system that delivers better results overall.