Would Detroit benefit from my crazy right-wing pipe dream?

[Hermod]

Ok, sure, it benefits rich people everywhere. But obviously, we know where most rich people live and build new dwellings, and it ain't Detroit.

Obviously, if you are in the 25% tax bracket, the gummint is "paying" 25% of your mortgage interest. If you are in a40% bracket, they are "paying" 40% of your mortgage interest

Back in the 50s when the lowest rate was 20% and the highest was 91%, the gummint "paid" 20% of what a poor man dropped into the collection plate and 91% of what a rich man dropped into the collection plate.

[Hermod]

costs more? exactly how much does it "cost"??

there you go again confusing letting people keep the product of their labor with "cost"

a tax deduction, a tax rebate, a tax refund is NOT a cost to the goverment.... its money they aren't getting but stop trying to equate this to an EXPENSE.... this is a tactic of goverment and the left in particular to redefine terms to fit their agenda....

This is the progressive/liberal bizarro world where elimination of taxes through reduced rates or deductions equal wasteful expenditures while the gummint taking the money coming in and pouring it down a variety of ratholes equals wise investments in the future.

[Wesley Mouch]

The mortgage deduction costs vastly more than Section 8. But it doesn't affect homeowners equally.

First, you can only get it if you have a mortgage, so it privileges housing that you can get a big loan against [[new construction in an exurb) vs older housing in a declining or soon-to-be-declining neighborhood.

Second, it is more valuable to higher-income people, both because you can only get the deduction if you itemize, and you are more likely to itemize deductions if you have more income, and because the deduction is worth more to people who pay a higher tax rate.

Generally the effect is to subsidize new construction [[for obvious reasons usually in suburbs) vs existing construction, although it also subsidizes places with unusually high housing values and high-income residents, which includes some central cities.

Everyone must read this. Very clear.

Let's stop this absurd subsidy to the rich now! I'm not in favor of taxing the rich as a strategy -- but I'm really against tax breaks for the rich. [[And for the record, I do itemize and deduct mortgage interest I have paid.)

[mwilbert]

The government collects a bunch of taxes. You can say that total amount is too low or too high, but you can't say that the home mortgage deduction isn't shifting who pays those taxes. If you don't want to call it a cost, fine, but it lowers taxes for those who get more of it, and raises taxes for those who get less. Also remember that income taxes aren't paid by poor people anyway, so the transfer is mostly from the middle-income to the upper-middle and rich. What a great policy!

[nain rouge]

Most of the people here that strongly support the mortgage-interest deduction basically view poor people as leaches and hate Detroit, except for when they drive in to feel cool. About says it all.