So the focus of the article should have been on eliminating the step up basis (which ProPublica admitted is a bipartisan thing to do) or other ways of avoiding capital gains tax rather than conflating tax avoidance with tax deferral. And all the activities they complained about billionaires doing are things that the middle class can relate to too: deferring taxes (401(k)), avoiding taxes using step up in basis and $500k home gain exemption, borrowing on paper wealth without realizing gains (HELOC).