I like paying attention to language. And as well as things are going for us in this election cycle, I think we are surrendering the term "loophole" without a fight -- and without even noticing. I hear the mortgage interest deduction being referred to (most recently by Paul Ryan talking with Chris Wallace) as a "loophole", and it most certainly is not. We need to reclaim the term "loophole" together with its connotation of cheating, of cutting corners, of escaping the intent of a rule, regulation, or law. The use of "loophole" should be understood as equivalent to "Yeah, he was guilty, but got off on a technicality." It's all about framing.
Compare these two sentences:
1) "Mitt and Ann Romney took advantage of a loophole in the business investment tax code to write off $70,000 in expenses for her dancing horse."
2) "Herb and Dorothy Smith used the mortgage interest loophole to reduce their taxable income by $23,000, itemized on the Schedule A."
Herb and Dorothy are availing themselves of a decades-old policy to encourage home ownership. Mitt and Ann are availing themselves of expensive tax advisors -- and found a loophole.
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