HSDent - Posted: 17 Dec 2010 06:16 AM PST - Think of the tax bill as America’s answer to the Ghost of Christmas Future.  When we were given a glimpse of the future by the spririts we did not like what we saw.  It was a world of pain.  There were tax increases, deduction losses, credit losses, and caps on benefits.  In short, we the people would get less from the government (unemployment benefits, refundable tax credits, etc.) while paying more.  It made members of Congress shiver at the thought!  How could we allow such a thing to happen?  What miserly soul would willfully choose to pay more and get less? Certainly something could be, should be, done!  And here we are.

FALLING HOME PRICES
Home prices fell 2% in the 3Q following a modest gain in 2009.

Home prices are down 1.5% year over year and off 2% compared to the second quarter, according to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index.

RISING HOMES-FOR-SALE INVENTORY
The inventory of homes for sale is high with nearly 3.9 million on the market in October, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Additionally, there is an enormous shadow inventory of home in the wings. It is believed that much of the shadow inventory is due fraudulent mortgage documents so this inventory will only shrink as the documentation issues are resolved.

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We As Taxpayers Have Been Assaulted And Insulted Again - Another “Dr. Fix”- HS Dent - (10 Dec 2010 06:18 AM PST)

Yesterday the House of Reps voted 402 - 2 to pass another version of the “Dr. fix.”  Back in the late 1990s Congress was trying to rein in Medicare and one of the provisions for doing so was an automatic cut to the payment schedule to doctors through Medicare if costs went over a certain level.  The threshold that would require cuts was reached years ago, but the cuts never happened.  Every year Congress is lobbied to push off the cuts in payments because it might disrupt the care given to those that rely on Medicare, as doctors would no longer treat patients because their pay went down.