"Vic Smith" wrote in message
...

On Sat, 21 Mar 2009 18:10:52 -0500, thunder
wrote:


This wasn't about home ownership. It was about using houses as banks.
Sucking out any equity, to pay of credit card bills. Flipping houses
expecting a 10-15% return in a year. It was a bubble, and like all
bubbles, it burst. It wasn't Clinton's fault. It wasn't Bush's fault.
It was *our* fault.

Bull****. I had nothing to do with it.

--Vic

This all started with tax reform legislation passed by Congress in 1986.
Reagan was president and the Democrats had control of congress. Up until
then individuals could deduct things like interest paid on car loans and
credit cards. The tax reform bill eventually (first year it reduced it to
65%) did away with these deductions, so people started getting 2nd mortgages
or "home equity lines of credit" to purchase big ticket items because the
interest paid was still deductable.

It's ironic that the tax reform bill of 1986, passed despite Reagan's
opposition to it, is now under "revision" by the Obama administration. They
are proposing the equivalent of tax credits if you buy a new car in an
effort to stimulate the economy.

Eisboch