I don't see that as a problem. It's the old "it's a feature, not a bug." Using the tax code as a cudgel for social change has, in my view, more downsides than

I don't see that as a problem. It's the old "it's a feature, not a bug." Using the tax code as a cudgel for social change has, in my view, more downsides than upsides. On the one hand, exempting retirement savings is probably a good thing (making it easier for people to provide for themselves in their later years). But, on the other, exempting the cost of owning housing is probably not a good thing (encouraging sprawl and crazy lending standards). The tax code should, in my current view which I'm willing to entertain rebuttals against, be used to raise revenue for the operation of the government. If you want to use the government to encourage other behaviors, do it in another way, like direct payments or some other incentives I can't think of right now, but keep the tax code simple lest we wind up with, frankly, the mess we have now.