In lawyer speak, you are assuming facts not in evidence.
I will agree that this was most likely the case when we used to be able to deduct the interest on our credit cards.
I use the long form each year. When both my kids were in college the additional deductions for tuition expense came in handy, along with mortgage interest, unreimbursed job expenses and the other deductions that are written in to the tax law for a reason, not just because we are in debt. Taking the standard deduction just to be able to use the short form would cheat me out of deductions which I am entitled to.
No assumption on my part, just observation of tax law.
Expense is debt, interest is debt.
Yes, you can get more deductions, if you are paying out more. (ie; debt).
Case in point.
Last years taxes, on a filing married jointly, on reported income of $100,000, incurred a tax rate less than 14%, on the short form.
I would rather be debt free and keep 86% of my earned, income than just get a percentage of my debt service "returned" to me from the IRS.
Lawyer speak aside, my point was simply that you actually have more money in your pocket, if you are debt free.
In lawyer speak, it was presumptuous of you to ignore the evidence.
I assumed that only getting a portion of your debt load returned to you from the govt., might not be the wisest fiscal decision.
BTW,
I used every legal deduction on the books when I ran my farm, blacksmith business and stained glass business.