“Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence.” - Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789.
“The accounts of the United States ought to be, and may be made, as simple as those of a common farmer, and capable of being understood by a common farmer.” - Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, 1796.
Our current tax code runs 7 millions words and growing.