THE LOOPHOLE FACTORY

[Congressional Problem Creation - the sequel...]

Congress is becoming a tax loophole production factory for the powerful, says the Wall Street Journal. For example:

• The "Foreclosure Prevention Act" passed the Senate last week and contains $25 billion in tax subsidies for home builders and industry interests hurt by the housing crunch.
• Builders will be able to offset current losses against taxes paid in the past three years, which will mean billions of dollars of tax rebate checks from Uncle Sam.

This giveaway came only a few weeks after the National Association of Home Builders threatened to suspend their PAC contributions to Congress "until further notice" -- meaning until they saw more return on their political investments. With this loophole factory open for business on Capitol Hill again, business lobbies are spending more money than ever to curry Congressional favor:

• The real-estate industry may be in dire financial straits, but housing industry PACs have already contributed $56 million to political campaigns this election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
• Forty new business lobbying firms have registered since January to represent the likes of concrete makers, home builders, Freddie Mac and the Realtors, reports Politico.com.

[this legalized bribery scheme is how special interests run rough shod over the average American - when are we going to put a stop to it?']

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