The biggest single expenditure in the federal budget is the rats nest of credits, deductions, and exclusions built into the tax code.
Ironically, most of those expenditures benefit people with higher incomes, not the poor.
David Brooks' column in today's New York Times adds some context and perspective to the issue of tax expenditures, which I discussed previously here.
The context: when tax expenditures are included, the U.S. is a bigger welfare state than Italy and other European countries (not a good thing).
Perspective: both Obama and Romney have proposed tackling the problem (a good thing). But Obama's approach is a bit timid and Romney's is a bit vague (not a good thing).
On the other hand, the issue has moved out of think tanks and the blogosphere into places like Brooks' column (a very good thing).
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