Think of it as the cheaters ball. It's the American tax code. If you have the right amount of money and the right number to dial, it's the best way to get rich.

Special interests utilize the tax code in America as one of the primary favor-trading venues for extracting wealth from the average taxpayer. Why is this? Why is the code structured in a way that it discourages investment, and encourages reckless speculation?

David Cay Johnston is author of Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense and Stick You With the Bill, Pulitzer prize winning reporter with The New York Times and blogger on tax policy at Tax.com and at Reuters.com.