Open Thread

by Mary

Americans hate government because it helps someone else. But as Sara Robinson says, a lot of Americans think the benefits they receive aren't something that government (and we, their fellow Americans) make possible.

Sixty percent of people who get home mortgage interest deductions (one of the most important and lucrative middle-class subsidies going) don't see this as a form of government help to their households, even though many of them wouldn't be homeowners at all without it....The bulk of our [discretionary] tax money goes to other programs -- such as the mortgage interest deduction, student loan programs, and military spending -- that are hidden from easy public view in what Mettler calls "the submerged state." This spending is usually done in ways that are not directly visible to voters. A lot of it is corporate welfare, designed to prop up favored industries that are so powerful that no change is possible unless they're somehow bought off with new profit opportunities or subsidies. These industries have a strong interest in keeping this spending out of the public eye and off the political table, where it might be challenged.

So when the Republicans think about cutting the deficit, perhaps one of the wasteful government spending they will attack will be the home mortgage deduction? After all, government shouldn't be in the business of helping businesses (or people) according to Rand Paul. The market will take care of it best if government gets out of the way.