Regulations Aren’t Killing the Working Class—but the Red Tape Is
Naturally, frustration with bureaucracy extends beyond benefits. Many people can relate to having a tough time with navigating the tax system, often forced to rely on paid services to get the job done. For years, companies like Intuit lobbied to keep the government from offering free filing tools, while they made millions as people used their software to file their taxes. Intuit was recently charged by the Federal Trade Commission for using deceptive marketing tactics, allegedly advertising free services that most people would not end up qualifying for.
Finally, in 2024, the Internal Revenue Service introduced and piloted its own free file system in 12 states: DirectFile. The IRS says that this upcoming tax year, the service will be made available to people in 24 states. When the IRS decided to make DirectFile permanent in 2024, Intuit’s stock fell. Here, the government did not just leave and acquiesce to the demands of industry, as those who want deregulation would argue is necessary—helping the working person looked like the government intervening to compete with industry. (Writing for The New Republic, Bryce Covert reported that those who were eligible to participate in the DirectFile pilot program gave it rave reviews.)
When people try to access benefits and other government services, they are seen as a burden to the state and so they must prove their worthiness by jumping through endless hoops. Meanwhile, deregulation is being laundered as a tool to help average people trying to get by, when in reality it is merely a conduit to allow for greater exploitation. It is quite possible that as a Republican trifecta is sworn in, regular people will be asked to jump even higher, while the bar for regulatory compliance is lowered for corporations.