Extension of Home Tax Credit

Some lawmakers are pushing for an extension of the home buyers tax credit (unfortunately this is a yahoo news link, so the link will disappear in the not too distant future). Let it Die! All these credits do is move the decision to buying a home sooner, at taxpayer's expense. People who were either on the fence or considering buying in the near future will jump on the chance of saving $8,000, but those without the means to afford a mortgage or do not want to buy a home soon are not affected. Once the first tax credit was announced, home buying activity increased, but once it expired, home buying activity decreased below the level before the tax credit (Series: HXQ.US at economy.com). So, essentially over the time period, the same number of homes would have been sold, but taxpayers got fleeced for billions of dollars. Not a great deal for the rest of Americans who already own their homes or will continue to rent. Essentially these people are subsidizing other people to buy homes (remember, it may not sound like to are going over to your neighbor and handing him a check, but if money like this wasn't wasted, the government could lower taxes, or spend it on more productive purposes)

Also interesting is the rampant fraud found as apart of this tax credit. Many were not first time home buyers, many didn't even buy a home, some people were putting the credit into their children's names, and I'm sure countless other schemes.

So, notice in the first article, "The Realtors group has been pushing hard in Congress for the extension." Once again, lobbyists fleece America for their own benefit. And who is the lead supporter of this bill? Nevada's Harry Reid, of course. This is not surprising, since home values tanked in that state and he would probably like to garner some additional support since his popularity is decreasing.