Not to be outdone by Bobby Jindal, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA 44) has prepared his own response to the State of the Union Address. You can read the whole thing here, but I want to call your attention to a few points.
Most of the piece is about the President’s mortgage relief plans. Calvert says “The first component [of the plan] would allow homeowners to refinance their mortgage at current market rates. However, most homeowners in our region would not qualify for the program because the sharp decline in home values would make them ineligible.”
While it’s true that many won’t qualify, others will, and Calvert’s words will discourage eligible homeowners from applying. Not very good constituent service, if you ask me. But I guess when you Put Politics Before People, constituent service is one of the casualties.
Calvert then explains that ” the second component of the plan would allow struggling homeowners to have their mortgage payments reduced.” He doesn’t like this either, saying that he does “not believe homeowners who pay their bills on time and renters, who have saved up to buy a home, should foot the bill.”
What Calvert doesn’t mention is that he’s the author of the Access to Affordable Mortgages Act, which is one of the pieces of legislation that created the housing debacle in the first place. Once again, when you Put Politics Before People, facts like these are just inconvenient truths.
So now we understand that Calvert doesn’t like the President’s plans, and he  goes on with his own proposal for the housing crisis: “I have introduced legislation that would provide a $15,000 tax credit for buying a home as well as a bill (H.R. 755) which would eliminate the capital gains taxes on up to two investment houses.”
The hypocrisy is just stunning. According to Calvert, the taxpayers shouldn’t “foot the bill” for those who’ve already purchased homes, but we should “foot the bill” for people who want to buy homes now and for people who want to purchase investment properties!
I guess Calvert has figured out that those grappling with foreclosures won’t be voting for him, but new home buyers and wealthy folks who buy investment properties might do so. Because when you Put Politics Before People, that’s all that really matters.
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