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The reason it is not simple is that a lot of money is made keeping it as complex as possible.

Many things make sense if you assume their purpose is to maintain the numbers of government employees. Those people who never answer their phones, or if they do, can't tell you what you owe and where to mail it, get nice salaries and super-whopper employee benefits.

I get your point, but you are incorrect in thinking this is about government employees. Total employment of federales is capped by congress and has been pretty stable over the years adjusted for population growth.

This is about deep state crony capitalism. The real payoff, the real growth the wealth that buys mansions in McClean VA and Potomac Md. and Cheasapeake waterfront estates and gentlemen's horse farms in the VA countryside are private entities feeding off of government created "hold-up" problems in the sense of Rhine Barons.

Most of the billing is done not by federal or state workers but by private contractors. When Health Care just grew from 1/6th to 1/5th of GDP who was hired: doctors and nurses? They already had full employment. No, the private arm of the administrative state.

Ya gotta follow the money, every single time. Federal salaries for administrative staff are not actually that generous, and a lot of those services in DC are contracted out to those who can pay living wages.

The real bonanza is being a principal on one of those contracts (owner or CEO or VP of the contracting company, not one of the legions of modestly paid "workers")