What are some notable scams in history that went unnoticed for so long?

You people clearly don't understand politics and how tax works. And like a good boy you learned and believed everything they told you in school. Only a fraction of the tax you pay goes to good cause. The rest goes to making the rich, richer and the poor, poorer and keeping these governments in power.

I'm not from USA, but this is the case in every single country.