This is why tax reform is so difficult. No one wants to look at the overall picture. They zoom in on the one thing that matters to them and screech. You could give people the option of a lower tax bill with mortgage interest gone, or a higher tax bill with the mortgage interest deduction, and a disturbing number of people would pick to keep their deduction. Look at what happened to JC Penney when they got rid of coupons and lowered their prices. People went nuts, even though they were paying the same or less than before. They liked the "deals", even if it meant more hassle than a flat pricing structure. Tax isn't much different. It's no use going mental about this one single thing if you don't take into context everything else that surrounds it.
The fact of the matter is way too many people do not take advantage of their 401k or investing in general. Most people do the bare minimum to get their company match, and lots of people don't even do that. It's free money and they can't bother to put a little away to get it. It surprises me to talk to other people my age with good jobs or in a DINK situation and if investing comes up they tell me about the $5k they have in their Scottrade account. I had more than that in grad school. I worked with a guy that bought 5 shares of Facebook when it IPO'd and agonized when it went down 10 bucks. I don't know where all their money is going, but it points to a serious saving problem in this country.
