@cshentrup i agree that it would be much better if we could structure the economy so that there were fewer rents and barriers to competition, rather than tax the result of all that at the back end. i very much support antitrust, IP reform, and other policy that would address those problems. but it may in fact be the case, as a matter if real world politics, that we just cannot prevent the rents up, especially given the incentives created by lightly taxed receipt of them. 3/