TAx reform and the mortgage interest deduction
As I was reading Robert Samuelson’s Tuesday column as to why the federal mortgage deduction should be eliminated, I was surprised to see that he uses the infamous Jonathan Gruber to bolster his claim. Yes, the same Jonathan Gruber who proudly bragged, on camera, that he and the Obama administration lied in order to deceive the “stupid American public” and get the Affordable Care Act passed.
Mr. Samuelson further quotes Mr. Gruber’s contention that “eliminating the mortgage deduction would cause homebuyers to purchase smaller homes with less debt.” That would be “a good thing,” Mr. Gruber continued, because, “People could use the extra cash to save for retirement, to pay for college or to cover daily expenses.”
Presumably, they could also use some of that “extra cash” to pay for the ever rising costs of premiums under the Affordable Care Act.
And some wonder why so many have such little regard for those in Washington, D.C.
