• [ network ]
  • goatmatrix.net
  • gvid.tv
  • img.gvid.tv
  • speedy.gvid.tv
  • apps.gvid.tv
HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Kill the Mortgage Interest Deduction Now!

Views:1102
@ReasonVids

Thankfully, one of the biggest scams in the American tax code is finally under attack in the House version of Republican tax reform.

It's the mortgage-interest deduction, which lets homeowners deduct interest paid on mortgages of up to $1 million for two houses. Ever since owning a home has been a central tenet of the American Dream since the end of World War II and the rise of suburbia, it's been a given that deducting mortgage interest from your taxes is as American as apple pie.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://youtube.com/reasontv

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine/
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason
Subscribe to our podcast at iTunes: https://goo.gl/az3a7a

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.


The House plan would limit filers to deducting interest on the first $500,000 of a mortgage on just one house, sending a blind panic through wealthy home owners, realtors, and the building trades, all of whom are terrified that a government subsidy is being yanked away from them.

But the real problem with the House bill is that it doesn't go far enough. We should scrap the mortgage-interest deduction altogether and let housing prices reflect real market values.

The mortgage-interest deduction is typically justified by claiming that it lets people—especially vaguely defined "middle-class" people–afford homes. But it also increases the price of housing by making it artificially cheap to borrow, meaning homebuyers are willing to pay more. England, Canada, and Australia don't let their taxpayers deduct their mortgage interest and they all have higher rates of homeownership than the United States.

The mortgage-interest deduction disproportionately benefits the wealthiest Americans, who soak up almost all the $70 billion a year it costs in foregone revenue each year. Reason Foundation's director of economic research, Anthony Randazzo calculates that only 20 percent of tax filers claim the mortgage-interest deduction. That group by and large are part of six-figure households in a country where the median household income is $57,000.

Killing the mortgage-interest deduction might cause a one-time 7 percent drop in real estate prices, according to one estimate, with wealthy homeowners feeling most of the pain.

As a homeowner, that seems like a small price to pay to end a policy that distorts the real estate market, complicates the tax code, and benefits mostly wealthier Americans on the false promise that it makes home-owning affordable for the middle class.

The mortgage-interest deduction is just special interest pandering wrapped in a gooey story that equates "the American Dream" with having a mortgage. The tax code should be designed to raise the revenue necessary to pay for essential services, not to nudge and prod us into spending money on something the government decides is good for us.

Produced by Todd Krainin. Written and narrated by Nick Gillespie.

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
trump
,
paul ryan
,
real estate
,
inequality
,
nick gillespie
    Thumbnail for Stossel: The Fight Against Food Trucks5:30
    Stossel: The Fight Against Food Trucks
    ReasonVids
    992 views
    Thumbnail for Chicago Entrepreneurs: Pitch Your Business Idea & Win Funding!1:01
    Chicago Entrepreneurs: Pitch Your Business Idea & Win Funding!
    IJvids
    1007 views
    Thumbnail for Are all these UFOs an Alien Invasion or has Project Blue Beam finally begun28:45
    Are all these UFOs an Alien Invasion or has Project Blue Beam finally begun
    AOUisgay
    545 views
    Thumbnail for this little cinematic masterpiece is called "my son hunter". enjoy!2:54
    this little cinematic masterpiece is called "my son hunter". enjoy!
    bestofvoatxyz
    893 views
    Thumbnail for It is Wednesday, my dudes0:27
    It is Wednesday, my dudes
    bestofupgoat
    96 views
    Thumbnail for Michael Lavon Robinson-Obama announces his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential Election 0:28
    Michael Lavon Robinson-Obama announces his candidacy for the 2024 Presidential Election
    bestofupgoat
    470 views
    Thumbnail for TOOL - 4°6:04
    TOOL - 4°
    music.topic
    80 views
    Thumbnail for Waiting for it to clot0:08
    Waiting for it to clot
    bestofvoatxyz
    549 views
    Thumbnail for 6uild 6ack 6etter1:30
    6uild 6ack 6etter
    bestofupgoat
    312 views
    Thumbnail for little helper0:14
    little helper
    bestofupgoat
    492 views
    Thumbnail for Don't fuck with Gary from Chicago.1:17
    Don't fuck with Gary from Chicago.
    bestofupgoat
    368 views
    Thumbnail for Operation Mockingbird6:40
    Operation Mockingbird
    bestofupgoat
    219 views
    Thumbnail for The Sounds of Capitalism: Kennedy Talks with Ethnomusicology Professor Tim Taylor23:25
    The Sounds of Capitalism: Kennedy Talks with Ethnomusicology Professor Tim Taylor
    ReasonVids
    944 views
    Thumbnail for Kike gets bitchslapped0:16
    Kike gets bitchslapped
    bestofupgoat
    171 views
    Thumbnail for 5 Minute DOODLE JUMP Unity Tutorial | BMo5:10
    5 Minute DOODLE JUMP Unity Tutorial | BMo
    tech.topic
    759 views
    Thumbnail for SawStop in action. Ruins your blade, but you get to keep all your fingers 0:09
    SawStop in action. Ruins your blade, but you get to keep all your fingers
    bestofupgoat
    229 views
    Thumbnail for Jeffrey Toobin jerking off on a work zoom call0:48
    Jeffrey Toobin jerking off on a work zoom call
    bestofupgoat
    526 views
    Thumbnail for Liaoning cashmere goats0:25
    Liaoning cashmere goats
    bestofupgoat
    189 views
    Thumbnail for Baby wombat 0:07
    Baby wombat
    bestofupgoat
    297 views
    Thumbnail for Controlled-opposition Rogan jew-pills his subscribers1:12
    Controlled-opposition Rogan jew-pills his subscribers
    bestofupgoat
    464 views
    Thumbnail for Dying Patients vs. the FDA: 'Right to Try' Laws Give Hope - And Time4:52
    Dying Patients vs. the FDA: 'Right to Try' Laws Give Hope - And Time
    ReasonVids
    894 views
    Thumbnail for Who's a good girl?0:20
    Who's a good girl?
    bestofupgoat
    438 views
    Thumbnail for 'Here It Is, Right Here!': Kennedy Brings Pistol Brace To Senate In Fiery Attack On Biden ATF Rule | Forbes Breaking News14:26
    'Here It Is, Right Here!': Kennedy Brings Pistol Brace To Senate In Fiery Attack On Biden ATF Rule | Forbes Breaking News
    invidious
    449 views
    Thumbnail for HT Spor Gündem (25 Ekim 2024) - HT Spor1:21:20
    HT Spor Gündem (25 Ekim 2024) - HT Spor
    invidious
    170 views
    Thumbnail for Mr. Fantastic = LUFFY in MARVEL RIVALS #shorts | jacobweeby1:00
    Mr. Fantastic = LUFFY in MARVEL RIVALS #shorts | jacobweeby
    invidious
    182 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
trump
,
paul ryan
,
real estate
,
inequality
,
nick gillespie
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle