Opposition to Whole Foods

There should be no mortgage interest deduction. It's a back-door tax on renters to help non-renters. Someone who lives in Harlem is paying 15-20 percent of the interest on a West Chester doctor's mortgage interest.

Similarly, all local tax deductions are a subsidy for local taxes. It allows members of one community put some of the burden for their hometown good onto the rest of the country. For every $2,000-$3,000 in additional property taxes, they save $500 in taxes. You are basically subsidizing 15-20 percent of the expenditures for wealthy communities.

The tax code is full of these perverse externalities that do far more harm than good.