4 ms·

Yeah this is just the Senate subcommittee bill, which is run by a big spending Marylander who represents the program's home base in Greenbelt. It still has to

Yeah this is just the Senate subcommittee bill, which is run by a big spending Marylander who represents the program's home base in Greenbelt. It still has to pass the full committee and then the full Senate. Plus the U.S. House. And there's also a budget supercommittee that's supposed to propose major cuts later this year. Just some context. Meanwhile, this year Fannie Mae will get more direct bailout funding than NASA's entire budget. The Bush and Obama policy is continuous and the same, sacrificing science for subsidized mortgages and bank bailouts. Enjoy those granite countertops, people!

guelo 15y ago
Good point about Fannie Mae subsidy, but the real housing subsidy is the home mortgage interest tax deduction which costs $130 billion per year. There's also a subsidy in the form of a capital gains exemption when selling a primary residence, I don't know how much that one costs.
- underdown 15y ago
  the interest tax deduction costs exactly ZERO. in what bizarro world does NOT taxing the citizens equate to a "cost"?
  - derobert 15y ago
    Well, it doesn't cost exactly zero, as there are costs to handling the paperwork, etc. And if you look at economy-wide costs, it distorts economic decision-making, which definitely has costs. But what the OP is referring to as "cost" would be better said as repealing it would bring the budget $130 billion closer to balance (through increased revenue). But if you insist on that distinction, make sure not to call (for example) tax credits offered for renewable energy a cost, either.
  - bane 15y ago
    what is it deducting from?
  - guelo 15y ago
    What is the difference between the government mailing out a check vs having people deduct it from their taxes? It's just a hidden expenditure. As a renter I don't get that subsidy, if we both earn the same income but you pay less taxes it's a subsidy, you're on welfare.

guelo 15y ago

Good point about Fannie Mae subsidy, but the real housing subsidy is the home mortgage interest tax deduction which costs $130 billion per year. There's also a subsidy in the form of a capital gains exemption when selling a primary residence, I don't know how much that one costs.

underdown 15y ago
the interest tax deduction costs exactly ZERO. in what bizarro world does NOT taxing the citizens equate to a "cost"?
- derobert 15y ago
  Well, it doesn't cost exactly zero, as there are costs to handling the paperwork, etc. And if you look at economy-wide costs, it distorts economic decision-making, which definitely has costs. But what the OP is referring to as "cost" would be better said as repealing it would bring the budget $130 billion closer to balance (through increased revenue). But if you insist on that distinction, make sure not to call (for example) tax credits offered for renewable energy a cost, either.
- bane 15y ago
  what is it deducting from?
- guelo 15y ago
  What is the difference between the government mailing out a check vs having people deduct it from their taxes? It's just a hidden expenditure. As a renter I don't get that subsidy, if we both earn the same income but you pay less taxes it's a subsidy, you're on welfare.