Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality
by kcorbitt on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @02:18PM
(#14302562)
Yes, I am also in favor of auto-enrolled savings programs. I would be happy from a public policy perspective if we replaced the MID with some sort of automatic savings program that was difficult and annoying to opt out of (maybe intentionally overtax everybody and then stick the tax refund in an IRA by default, and require annoying paperwork to actually get your money back in cash?).
Re:How Homeownership Became the Engine of American Inequality
by twoodfin on Tuesday May 09, 2017 @03:46PM
(#14303227)
Unfortunately, that scheme would probably create an industry of folks who would do the annoying paperwork to get your money back at a fee. Not unlike today's "consumer" tax prep firms.
You just made an argument for a forced-savings program, not for a home mortgage deduction.
Moreover, I think the issue with savings is a service problem, not an impulse control problem. Tax deferred accounts are complicated to figure out for a lot of people and it can be difficult to keep track of for people who don’t do regular, salaried work. I still have 2 or 3 401ks from previous jobs that I haven’t gotten around to rolling over just because coordinating with them and getting the form filled out is a bit of a hassle and it’s an easy thing to procrastinate on. And I have the advantage of actually knowing how this stuff works!
If it was as easy as just having a chunk of my salary taken out on a regular basis, and made opt-out rather than opt-in, you'd get a way higher participation rate.