It's called directing the behavior of the people, a very communistic tenet.  Only in this country, we do the controlling with money.  Your comment is so right on.  We give a deduction for home mortgages because the government deems it a good idea to own a home.  We get a deduction for children because the government deems it a good idea to propagate.  (I think even our conservative friends snarl at that notion.)  And on and on it goes, all to satisfy the whims of the government.  I wonder if anyone is catching my drift.  Or did I drift too far?  And if someone wants to have a church, why should he get a tax deduction?

Also, while we're at it, why should people who don't have and never had children pay property tax to educate the children of others, especially those who never paid a tax in their lives?  We could say it is for the "common good," but I'm not seeing that, either, and besides, that is the most communistic thing I've ever heard.  Talk about transfer of wealth.