Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Cut the Mortgage Interest Deduction
I'll do Ed Glaeser one better.
Replace the Interest Rate Deduction with a Principal Payment Deduction. Sure, it'll break some banks with a bad mix of Mortgage Backed Securities holding prepayment risk, but fuck 'em.
This will bring a soft landing as people with large amounts of cash are encouraged to buy houses, without lots of leverage. Demand will be buoyed and banks will be flooded with cash and will have to lend at lower interest rates to compete. It will also move properties to less risky owners. Fast.
Replace the Interest Rate Deduction with a Principal Payment Deduction. Sure, it'll break some banks with a bad mix of Mortgage Backed Securities holding prepayment risk, but fuck 'em.
This will bring a soft landing as people with large amounts of cash are encouraged to buy houses, without lots of leverage. Demand will be buoyed and banks will be flooded with cash and will have to lend at lower interest rates to compete. It will also move properties to less risky owners. Fast.
