There are so many laws because what started out as rule usually gets expanded out into detailed regulations that cover vastly more than just illegal behavior. P

There are so many laws because what started out as rule usually gets expanded out into detailed regulations that cover vastly more than just illegal behavior. Perfectly legal things that fulfill the spirit and letter of the law are nonetheless outlawed to achieve the goal of the law. A law that employees must pay withholding taxes on their pay, gets extended into a regulation that contracting is banned because in some cases this might hide sources of income and be used to dodge the law. Enough layers of this going on and no one except major corporations with teams of lawyers can keep up with the "right way" to operate. Despite everyone having good intentions.