Judging from the following statement, it would seem that
Lao Tzu knew something about regulation and taxation.
"The greater the number of laws and enactments, the more thieves and robbers there will be."
Indeed, it is a bad sign that any society must attempt to enforce behaviors, especially when the
ultimate consequences of such enforcement are difficult to fully anticipate.
To wit, the deduction for mortgage interest is politically popular, but it encourages residential capital at the expense of corporate capital. Thus, too much of our nation’s saving ends up as housing rather than as business investment, which could increase productivity and wages. And when troubled times occur in the housing sector, it spreads far and wide due to the lack of
diversification.
