By TATIANA PROPHET

A fool and his money are soon parted. But the deceived and their political self-determination are parted over and over again. Often, it’s the self-deceived politicians who lead their deceived supporters around the same old problems. Especially when it comes to taxes – because the topic is so damn complicated.

Yet understanding the basic issues around taxes and the economy doesn’t have to be painful. Perhaps the first reality we must acknowledge is that economics – and taxes – are not a binary proposition: up/down, yes/no, good/bad.