Let me re-clarify myself: The USA is not a free market. That's the problem.
We have a people-elected government that doles out favors based off votes (special interest groups) or money (big donors), instead of putting the needs of the country first.
When private insurers set a price for flood insurance that was too high, the taxpayer funded (and slightly assisted by premiums) National Flood Insurance was created. Companies made a fortune building millions of homes in flood plains and hurricane zones that people were happy to buy. As advertised on TV in VA, NFIP is only $150 per year. With NFIP crumbling, Florida stepped up and made themselves the "insurer of last resort"....and they now insure over 50% of Floridians and admit they can't pay. This is a government distortion of the free market.
When the Federal Gov selects two mortgage companies out of thousands and says we'll back you, but not the others, that causes most of the field to be cleared and puts all the power in the hands of two "private" companies. What could possibly go wrong? This is a government distortion of the free market.
These are but two of hundreds of millions of examples. By the way--root for Manchester United. As a taxypayer, you sponsor them now (Part of the AIG bailout).
When the government sets mandates, quotas, tax incentives, etc, it all serves as a distortion of a free market. Of course, it's always for a noble purpose. Just like everything that led to the market mess today was noble--put more people in homes. I'm not saying the government should never use incentives, but they are being used as money and vote getters now, not for any noble purpose. It has become death by increment.
Can agree with much of the above.
Let's nail some other sacred cows to the wall:
- Why is there a mortgage deduction, aside from buying votes from people who already have enough money to afford a house? It distorts the value of a house. Condos/apartments are much more energy and space efficient. We should give *them* a tax break and encourage more dense living.
- Why do we keep subsidizing automobiles, automobile companies, and roads, and having to put special temporary tax breaks up for mass transit?
[/quote]
Holy contradiction, Batman!!!! We should not subsidize anything!!! Mortgage deductions are SMART. People renting get "credit for rent paid" deductions, which is based on income, which is foolish. I don't want to live downtown - tried it, hated it. I'll take my 5 acres, and hopefully another 100, thank you very much. Anyone trying to push me into another high rise will have another thing coming. BTW - do you really think that we need another NYC?
Imagine if we lived in high quality condos with park and community space (sort of like Florida), close to work and shopping with great public transportation. First, we'd have a huge drop in our energy dependence.
Go for it. Move to NYC. Show me how they are saving money on energy. But don't expect the rest of us to follow you.
