Open Thread

sorry…computer locked up

Biff…how often are you going to advertise the party in the Forum??

I think it helped yesterday when BRG got it reinvigorated.

Benson, just a note on your comment, which reasoning strikes me as flawed (regarding mortgage interest deduction and rent control): “Both are equally bad in my book. If I had to say which is worse, I would say rent control for one simple reason: whereas the mortgage deduction is a benefit open to anyone who wishes to buy a home, rent control is restricted to a select few. It is a closed benefit.”

The mortgage deduction is a benefit open to anyone who *owns* a home, not anyone who wishes to buy one. Many who wish to buy a home will never be able to afford one or to apply the deduction. Rent-regulated apartments are available to anyone searching for apartments to rent. Many who wind up renting will never find or qualify for a rent-controlled or rent-regulated apartment, but the benefit is only as closed or limited as the program defining and/or limiting those apartments. Both ownership and rentals are inextricably linked to affordable housing issues and to much broader social issues.

Benson, I love learning from you, but yeah, I have to admit, the OT a hiding spot of sorts 🙂