With the election over, across the country progressives are wondering, will the 2nd Obama administration be more progressive than the first? I’m not holding my breath on that one. Of particular concern for me and for you if you’re a home owner, is the potential for a disastrous change in the home mortgage deduction.
We’re the folks on the front-end of our mortgages, who bought at the height of the boom in Providence and elsewhere and who have diligently made our mortgage payments. We’re the ones who decided to ride out the storm and who have the misfortune of not having a loan owned by Fannie or Freddie, with the potential for a below market refi. Our mortgage rates are near double the current rate and the banks have next to no incentive to modify the loan. Hey, we’re the ones who are still paying! Yes, if you’re like me there’s been no bailout for you, and unfortunately the “grand bargain” (Orwellian language if I ever heard it) may put you into foreclosure. Progressives take note.
At issue is the elimination of the so called “tax loophole” of the mortgage deduction. You may not be in this position, but if you’re a homeowner, a second round of foreclosures in the neighborhood is the last thing you need and is a recipe for a double-dip recession if I ever heard one. The question for progressives is, what grand bargain do we strike with the Obama administration? Is our support unconditional? A Romney administration would certainly have been worse, but is a restoration of the Bush tax cuts to the modest levels of a decade ago enough?
Progressives, the time is now to speak up. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid are all on the table, yet again asking the working class to bailout the bankers. I say a vote for a grand bargain is a vote for a grand betrayal, further sinking the middleclass. Will progressives demand more?
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