Ever get the feeling you're playing with LOADED dice?
Time to get new dice!
Ahh, but that's not the real problem. You see, if you know that loaded dice are in the game then you bet accordingly and game the situation to your advantage.
The problem for the sucker (i.e. the taxpayer in this illustration) isn't the loaded dice but rather the dice mechanic who switches them in and out of the game. The sucker, even when he suspects the game is crooked, never knows when the dice are hot or cold.
The only chance the sucker has is to get out of the game before all of his money is gone.
But that part is fixed, too. When the sucker gets wise there are other members of the dice gang who come into play. The shoot up man handles PR with the suckers: keeping the action going, getting the bets higher and cooling out the losers.
The third part of the dice crew is the muscle. He is there for when the chump really gets wise and either wants out of the game or wants his money back. The muscle man adjusts the attitude of the sucker either through intimidation or outright violence.
Either way the sucker 1) doesn't stand a chance and 2) always leaves the game flat broke.
You can assign these crew member attributes to those in the media and government without too much effort.
We are the chumps although some few of us are beginning to get wise.