Well, it is an exchange of something for something. It’s not them giving you something (money) for nothing.
It’s not like winning the lottery which would be almost (except for the cost of the ticket) all pure profit.
Yes, that’s how I see it. Of course the probable outcome is that the Supreme Court will set down a definitive definition of the term “income”. And we will go on from there.
Of course if that happens then a lot of wiggle room will be taken away from the IRS and Employers and Employees just might come up with a different form of compensation. Now that would be interesting, don’t you think?