https://pjmedia.com/rogerkimball/2010/02/07/sadists-who-were-trying-to-be-nice/feed/PJ Media is a leading news site covering culture, politics, faith, homeland security, and more. Our reporters and columnists provide original, in-depth analysis from a variety of perspectives.en-usWed, 10 Jun 2026 06:37:57 -0400<![CDATA[“Sadists who were trying to be nice”: that’s George Will’s characterization of the folks who devised the current tax system.  “Every wrinkle in the code was put there to benefit this or that interest,” Will notes:  that’s the “trying to be nice” part. But  “since the 1986 tax simplification, the code has been recomplicated more than 14,000 times &#8212; more than once a day.” The result? A painful, byzantine code that puts the whole metabolism of taxation beyond the ken of laymen.]]>Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:58:43 -0500<![CDATA[Roger Kimball]]>https://pjmedia.com/roger-kimball/2010/02/07/sadists-who-were-trying-to-be-nice-n116231