This system inevitably takes on the characteristics of a pyramid scheme, and money must be funneled into the machine so it won' t collapse. Serious tax reform is impossible unless the root problem is fixed. Government becomes the power broker in this system, able to punish or reward friends and enemies. Those who want the federal teat aimed their way had better ante up. Campaign Finance Reform is meaningless at this point.
Money follows power.
Big money follows big power. That' s the whole point of the exercise. After all, the Constitution they created, which severely limited Federal Power and reserved power to the states, wouldn' t have allowed for it to happen. We seriously need an amendment to the Constitution that resets the power relationships, strengthens this weak plank and that meets the tests described above. Failure to do so will result in the system worsening exponentially until, like all pyramid schemes, it collapses under its own weight.