As Rocky notes, the language is rich even if it contains more exceptions that actual rules, but I agree the spelling is ridiculous.
Bomb, tomb, comb.
Enough, dough, through, thought.
Done, run, cone.
Ate, wait, eight, height.
Spoon, hook.
Do not, don't.
Will not, won't - wth?
Why is "do I not?" contracted to don't I? We don't say "do not I?"
And many more.
We could get rid of several consonants and particularly vowel pairs that sometimes make a vowel long or not. Just put a macron over long vowels,ā as in ate. So ate would be spelled āt (and not eight or ait as in wait), at would be spelled at. Add a couple of letters to denote some particular consonant pair such as the sh or ch sounds.
The French and Spanish have academies or bodies that say what is proper in their language and what isn't (which doesn't stop some ridiculous spelling in French - want some or durves, I mean hors d'oeurves?), but that'll never happen in America.
