Eliminate tax expendures

Tax expenditures are spending items which should not be in the tax code. They disguise and cover up spending and distort the overall government budget. They are very popular with politicians because they escape notice: they can be narrowly focused to favor their benefactors while making it seem like government is smaller. Government spending should be out in the open, not hidden behind endless pages in the tax code. Unfortunately, these include homeowner deductions like mortgage interestand are very popular