BRUCE E. W.

Home Purchase Tax Credit Extended: Is This Wise?

The fallacy of dillemma once again. I didn't see the option to put $38 Billion into Housing "or" infrastructure construction, so to weigh the one against the other is simply not proper.
I had seen the earlier testimony of Simon Johnson in Congress who also spoke against the expenditure of more capital on this expiring tax credit, presumably a position against false bottoms in the industry simply draining the till. But in tracking the history of criticism on this tax credit the issues seem to be more about accountability and abuses which were marginal to its application.
Overall, the actual implementation could use some stricter guide lines and it is puzzeling why they appear to have been loosened instead, but this does not seem to be in question. With all the capitaliztion and "quantifying debt" being "eased" all over the banking and finance sectors, this seems to be a minimal application towards a middle class "pump" that should hold some infrastructural extremity in its walking stride.
I suppose this may well turn out to be one of those items that look bad to the people who are already in a well healed home setting, But it may well be a last helicopter leaving Saigon to those at the other end of the spectrum. It seems very little "demand side" incentives exist to be throwing out the baby with the bath.