An article in the Wall Street Journal about attempts by Congress to rewrite the tax code to make it more efficient noted that there were many provisions in the code intended to reduce the taxes paid by industries in districts of the members of Congress supporting the provisions. In total, these provisions result in tax losses of $1 trillion to the federal government. The article observed that eliminating these provisions is "virtually impossible ... [because] congressional sponsors engage in logrolling to make sure almost everything stays in year after year."
a. Briefly explain what the journalist means by "logrolling."
b. Suppose that eliminating these tax provisions would increase the federal government's tax receipts by $1 trillion, which could then be used to lower the tax rates of the individual income tax. Wouldn't such a change benefit most taxpayers? If so, is the change likely to be enacted? Briefly explain.