Watch your language

In politics, it is often necessary to mangle the English language in order to conceal the absurdity.
For example, building a bridge to nowhere is called an "investment."
But my favorite is "tax expenditures."
When lobbyists succeed in carving out a provision in the tax code that favors their interests, the government -- having approved it as good public policy -- then labels it a tax expenditure.
What does that mean? It means that it is a cost to the government.
That's right: not taking money from you that you have earned (because you are doing something with it that they approve of) is a cost.
By that same token, shouldn't the remainder of your paycheck be a cost to the government?
Aren't they entitled to all of it?
The tragic fact is that some politicians think so.