Want people to believe in democracy? Tax a billionaire.

It is easy to see that being rich has its perks — courtside seats, lavish vacations and, increasingly, an outsized say in how our democracy works. 

Corporate political spending is already crushing records this election cycle. Companies have contributed $646 million to federal races — 40 percent more than they spent during the entire 2024 presidential cycle, which itself smashed previous records for corporate spending.

The 20 biggest donors in this year’s federal election cycle, most of whom are billionaires, have put in an astonishing $1.2 billion. Today, the biggest spenders come from crypto, AI and online betting, and they are counting on politicians they fund to oppose increasingly popular checks on their technologies, so they can continue to build unbridled wealth and power.

But millions of Americans are working through a different calculus: What is coming out of every paycheck? Why are grocery bills, health care premiums and energy prices eating into everything I take home? What can we do without in order to survive?

The affordability crisis has eaten through American optimism and given way to many questions — namely, why should being wealthy entitle you to a different set of rules? It is a question we take seriously at Better Taxes for a Better America. In partnership with Hart Research Associates, we recently surveyed 2,610 registered voters about taxes, power and democracy. And what we found goes way deeper than “declining........

© The Hill