J. Bradford DeLong says the tax-reform bill has attracted so much attention that the public has overlooked an underlying problem - America's "broken system." This political malaise is a result of the "Anglo-Saxon model of representative government," which is in "serious trouble. And there is no solution in sight." As controversial the bill is - the top 1% of earners will benefit from tax loopholes and increase their fortune, inflicting damage on government finances, "causing revenues to decline by the equivalent of about 1% of national income" - he doubts if it ever becomes law at all.

The author points out America's system of plutocracy - a democracy in disguise, because the government is controlled directly by the wealthy few that serves their interests. Critics say the system is so rigged in recent decades, that the two mainstream political parties are said to have shifted to the right. While the Republicans are moving further right, Democrats are now what used to be called "moderate Republicans." Most Americans feel that their representatives pay little attention to their opinions while pandering to wealthy donors. Republicans are the worst of the lot.

The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) shows how divided Republicans are - both they and Trump had vowed to dismantle it. Yet despite a congressional majority they have not been able to get things done. The author says they "didn’t actually want to take responsibility for changing the health-care financing system, much less strip their own constituents of health care." The GOP shot itself in the foot, as its "party’s propaganda arm had worked so hard to convince its base that Obamacare represented a clear and present danger to the country that its leaders had to act as if they were making a serious effort to fulfill their promise to repeal and replace it."

The author says, the "same thing may be happening with the tax reform." Last week Senate Republicans passed the bill, urged on by donors and fearful of facing voters in next year’s midterm elections without a legislative achievement to show. The measure still has to be reconciled with an earlier House-passed version before being sent to Trump. Given how "indefensible and blatantly unfair" the bill is, a few Republicans could still raise their objections. Facing re-elections, some might even be "seeking to trick their constituents into thinking that they went the extra mile to try to help them, and are not puppets of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell."

Even if the tax bill "survives the reconciliation process and becomes law," the "Anglo-Saxon governance model" is in jeopardy. For centuries it "exemplified by the republican semi-principality of the Netherlands, the constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom, and the constitutional republic of the United States of America" and was "widely regarded as having hit the sweet spot of liberty, security, and prosperity. The greater the divergence from that model, historical experience seemed to confirm, the higher the likelihood of repression, insecurity, and poverty. So countries were frequently and strongly advised to emulate those institutions." However the Brexit vote and Trump's election had squandered much of the model's goodwill.

In recent decades representatives in the UK and the US have abandoned parliamentary politics and focussed on partisan politics. Leaderships have to grapple with polarisation and fragmentation of political landscapes and societies. There is a lack of shared experiences and common knowledge - information that can promote mutual understand and help build bridges. Voters harbour much disdain for the establishment and its top-down approach, and urge for real, grassroots government, where the concerns of the lowest in society could efficiently reach those at the top.

The author is right about the naive optimism of the GOP voters in general and their blind support for Trunp in particular. A year ago many thought a Trump presidency would not have to be a "disaster," and that it would mellow him. The Republicans have a majority in Congress, but a moron in the White House. And they have not "achieved any of their four policy goals: repeal and replacement of Obamacare, infrastructure development, trade-policy reform, or even tax reform."

The GOP is in disarray and Trump as divisive and despicable as he was throughout his campaign. "This points to a broken system of politics and governance, one that Americans seem to have no idea how to fix." Given the paralysis, it remains to be seen how long the US can remain "the world’s preeminent superpower," as many across the globe now doubts "whether it’s still up to the job."