White Picket Fence? Nope. More Calls to End the Mortgage Deduction

 Once again, the cries to end the mortgage interest deduction for homeowner’s are banging around the halls of the capital. As usual, this latest dust up has more to do with social engineering and class warfare than logic. Is the goal really to have a society where everything is entirely equitable? I’ve been around a few years now and am quite pleased with how things have worked out. Looking back of course there were things that I could have put more effort into or decisions, that while hard at the time, might have paid dividends now. I know and meet plenty of folks working their butts off and enjoying their richly deserved rewards. I have no issue with that in any way, shape or form.

The problem with this government – and this is on both sides of the aisle – is pathetic fiscal accountability; this is the wealthiest country on earth. With minimal fiscal responsibility we wouldn’t have this smothering debt. We can waste trillions of dollars, kill and main thousands of our troops on never ending jaunts overseas with ridiculous objectives (how do you physically fight an ideology?) but we can’t get a grip on pork and waste here? Decisions to put thousands of lives at risk, waste billions of dollars, increases in spending….all easier than budget cutting here?

THE United States spends more than $100 billion annually to subsidize homeowners. Renters get no breaks; homeowners get tons of them. Their mortgage rates are subsidized through the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; they get a big deduction on federal income taxes for mortgage interest payments and for state and local property taxes; and they even get favored treatment on capital gains from the sales of primary residences.

But according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, these tax breaks add up to $700 billion in lost government revenue over the five-year period through 2014. As the government struggles to come up with spending cuts and revenue sources, housing subsidies are an obvious place to look.

We’re well on the way to removing incentives for folks to do much of anything in this country…the dumbing down continues on all levels. According to the Center for Defense Information, the estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will reach $1.29 trillion by the end of fiscal year 2011. It’s estimated 6800 US troops killed and thousands more maimed and psychologically damaged. Toss in the destruction of and impact on the families as well just for good measure. $1.29 trillion….could that possibly have been better spent here?

Here’s a thought for Washington; how about getting one thing figured out first? Say….health care? Poke around and see if there’s any waste, fraud or gouging in that arena; look into that and see how it’s affecting business and individuals. Check into those continuous pummeling increases and where that money is going and get back to us…Do that and then you can propose that we eliminate the mortgage interest deduction.