05-05-2011, 08:18 PM
davester wrote:
That said, I do think that there are a lot of deductions that should be eliminated, notably the mortgage deduction (which completely warps consumer rent/buy decision-making and fuels the out-of-control housing market to consumer's detriment), and most agricultural and energy company deductions and allowances. One thing we should hang on to is deductions aimed at building up alternative energy industries (NOT including corn).
As hard as that would be (and it may turn out to be impossible), I have to agree.
Also, anything that moves us off the mark from using housing "starts" as the lens through which we view economic solvency is welcome.
In terms of alt energy credits, I think those are mostly going away or, at least, getting reduced. If the Repubs win in 2012, I think we'll see that come to fruition. The right sees those as "free money" to those who use alt-energy credits and we know who those folks are...