tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post2693188649879294341..comments2023-10-12T03:32:59.387-05:00Comments on Truncated thoughts: Eliminating deductions and the perils of votingzbicyclisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10850387889082662189noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-27371135839839106672012-12-29T12:17:00.125-06:002012-12-29T12:17:00.125-06:00Oh, and according to Mettler's summary of rece...Oh, and according to Mettler's summary of recent lobbying history, you are correct, the real estate industry does indeed react to any hint of danger to the mortgage interest deduction with well-funded outrage.Cosma Shalizihttp://bactra.org/weblog/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34928391.post-68129822386914570722012-12-29T12:14:21.977-06:002012-12-29T12:14:21.977-06:00Suzanne Mettler's book _The Submerged State_ (...Suzanne Mettler's book _The Submerged State_ (Chicago, 2011) reports some interesting experiments on how support for various tax breaks, like the mortgage interest deduction or earned-income tax credit, change as she varies the information poll respondents are given about who benefits from them. As I recall she uses actual dollar income figures, not phrases like "upper income", but I just returned the book to the library so I can't check. I lack the survey-methodology-fu to really evaluate her experiments...<br />Mettler also has a very plausible, though necessarily more speculative, account of the political economy favoring a complicated tax code.Cosma Shalizihttp://bactra.org/weblog/noreply@blogger.com