"Of course, big donors and special interests are unlikely to simply embrace these new taxes, which is why an accompanying strategy to force elected officials to do the right thing is essential."

The real issue is: How would a national tax on campaign contributions and lobbying ever become a law? The Constitution specifies "All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States . . ." U. S. citizens have no power to initiate laws and members of Congress are not going to cut off the funding that helps them maintain their status and power. The people only have the power to replace their representatives in Congress. However, even though the majority of people claim to be dissatisfied with Congress most of the incumbents continue to get reelected.

"Others could implement ranked choice voting . . ."

I'm a proponent of a Top 5 open nonpartisan primary followed by a RCV general election: fairelectionadvocates.org I enjoyed listening to your podcasts on your website. I suggest that you interview Sarah Eskrich, Executive Director of democracyfound.org who promotes Final-Five Voting. Her contact info can be found on their website.