If a conservative idealist got to write the federal tax code, the result would be low and flat rates that fund a modest government and do not punish success. Meanwhile, the liberal idealist would create high tax rates (to fund a big government), and the rates would be higher for the wealthy and for corporations (in order to redistribute wealth).

The Beltway lobbyist and lawyer hold a different ideal. To maximize their wealth and influence, they would want high tax rates, but they would also want plentiful loopholes. Even better, they would want Congress to grant broad discretion to political appointees in the administration to raise and lower rates and exempt or target certain products.