Political system is rigged for the wealthy

House Republicans want to tie funding for Israel to cutting funding for the Internal Revenue Service that would crack down on wealthy tax cheats. This is a venal, transactional appeal to Republicans' ultrawealthy big donors, some of whom may be tax cheats.

This proposal echoes the Trump-Republican tax cut which included the largest corporate tax cut in U. S. history - from 35 percent to 21 percent - at a time when corporations were doing well and so many ordinary people were struggling.

Money is so important for winning elections that politicians, especially Republicans, are willing to contort themselves to appeal to big donors. This is why the superrich continue to get richer while so many others struggle.

Billionaires sometimes contribute tens of millions of dollars, meaning one or a few of them can buy more political speech than tens of millions of ordinary people combined. This is thanks to the Supreme Court's 5-4, precedent-overturning, 2010 Citizens United decision which permitted unlimited contributions. The five justices in the majority were appointed by Republican presidents.

During the Republican Eisenhower administration and before and after, the highest marginal personal tax rate - the tax on the highest part of the highest income - was just over 90 percent, which discouraged astronomical CEO compensation and left more money to pay workers. Unions were strong and a counterbalance to corporations so productivity gains were shared between workers and corporations and the middle class was growing.

Public funding of election campaigns would reduce politicians' focus on big donors and motivate them to consider everyone, which is how democracy is supposed to work.

Richard Barsanti

Western Springs