On 7/24/2011 2:43 PM, John H wrote:
On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 10:47:58 -0400, Wayne wrote:

On Sun, 24 Jul 2011 06:15:23 -0700 (PDT), John H
wrote:

Eliminate all mortgage interest deductions. That'll do it better.

At least it would be fair across the board. Might not be popular and
might have a somewhat detrimental impact on the housing market. It
would probably help the rental market though.
===========

Home ownership has always been part of the American dream and the
interest rate deduction is a tacit reaffirmation of that goal.
Without question home ownership leads to a more stable citizenship and
increased two parent family formation. Those were worthwhile goals at
the time and still are.
I'm not knocking home ownership. I think it's great. But, if the mortgage interest deduction were
removed, I still think people would want to buy a home. I don't think that would change. However,
for many people, the cost would have to come down far enough to offset the lack of the interest
deduction.
Either that or buy less house.There is no law that says you must buy the
most expensive house you qualify for. People and governments should live
within their means. After the dot com bubble burst, a lot of folks
American Dream went up in smoke. Similar thing is happening now except
the government is to blame this time. Allow jobs to go off shore. That
ain't good. Encourage people to spend what they don't have. That ain't
good. Force banks to write shaky loans. That ain't good. Believing
Senator Barney when he says everything is fine with Fanny and Freddy.
That ain't good. Bailing out the banks and letting them horde the money.
That ain't good. Paying out ridiculous bonuses to Wall St. execs. That
ain't good. Starting wars without even informing Congress. That really
ain't good.
The only ray of sunshine I see is the election isn't too far away. I
hope we've learned from our mistakes