I can't speak specifically for the group here, but the vast majority of US taxpayers by a large margin _are_ compensated via W-2 or 1099. Isn't that who it should be optimized for, rather than outliers or exceptions?
The portion of that cohort that file 1040 (generally those that make over 100K and have situations that make itemized filing more efficient than taking standard deductions) is pretty small.
You were outraged at hedge fund managers classifying their income as interest (15% tax) rather than "earned income" (~35% income tax)? Well, wait until the income tax goes back up to 50+%, and see how many non-"earned income" ways there are to compensate employees...