I think what you have to understand is our structure of government being a “republic” rather than a democracy, invites oligarchy. There has never been a single “republic” that has ever proven to work. The admixture or money and power always becomes lethal. This is why I blame government, not the oligarchs. They could not buy politicians if they were non (1) career, and (2) all powerful. Taxes and regulation become the incentive for the oligarchs to buy government. If we eliminate taxes and career politicians, we will solve not ALL, but most of the problem. We then must eliminate “socialism” which at its core is predicated upon the foundation of Marxism which advocated government power by insisting that it was all powerful and COULD alter society by regulation. This serves as a fundamental pillar for taxation.
Philadelphia is trying to introduce a 3 cent tax per ounce of soda. The excuse is that “sugar” is bad for you so they have only the best interests in mind for society. They expect to get almost $100 million annually. The city is dead broke and has a 22.5% tax on parking and 8.5% tax on hotels. They have chased everyone out because anyone even having a conference there they was income tax for money earned in the city. This latest “soda tax” means a 2-liter bottle of soda typically costs $1.50, but the tax would amount to $2.04, more than the cost of the actual bottle. The cost of a 12-pack of soda would nearly double to more than $8. This is the same thing with all this global warming. They use this as the excuse to tax you for your own good. The money does nothing but line the pockets of politicians. In the case of Philadelphia, they will shop in the suburbs to avoid the tax. To appease the oligarchs, the Feds created carbon-credits which can then be sold to others who do pollute. Its all just about the money.
Read more: Is it Government or Oligarchs?