“Taxes,” former Tax Foundation President Scott Hodge tells us in his new book, Taxocracy, “rule nearly every aspect of our daily lives.” In the course of 335 pages, Hodge backs up that statement, showing how the tax code can explain everything from the size and shape of buildings to why songwriters all suddenly started selling their catalogs to corporations. 

Almost all these efforts to control human behavior through the tax code, Hodge argues, have ended up being a net negative for taxpayers. The ever-rising cost of healthcare, for example, can be traced back to a World War II-era tax break for employer-sponsored insurance designed to get around wage controls. Unaffordable college tuition costs can also be partly blamed on the deduction for student loan interest, tax-advantaged savings plans, and the tax exclusion for scholarships and fellowships.