Propublica: Trump's Trillion-Dollar Hit to Homeowners

[TomCADem]

I know that Trump's scandals and crimes grab the headlines, but we can't forget Trump's policies, which hit homeowners in states like California and New York.

https://www.propublica.org/article/trumps-trillion-dollar-hit-to-homeowners

By reducing deductions for real estate taxes, Trump’s 2017 tax plan has harmed millions — and helped give corporations a $680 billion gift.

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has been talking about plans for, as he put it, a “very substantial tax cut for middle income folks who work so hard.” But before Congress embarks on a new tax measure, people should consider one of the largely unexamined effects of the last tax bill, which Trump promised would help the middle class: Would you believe it has inflicted a trillion dollars of damage on homeowners — many of them middle class — throughout the country?

That massive number is the reduction in home values caused by the 2017 tax law that capped federal deductions for state and local real estate and income taxes at $10,000 a year and also eliminated some mortgage interest deductions. The impact varies widely across different areas. Counties with high home prices and high real estate taxes and where homeowners have big mortgages are suffering the biggest hit, as you’d expect, given the larger value of the lost tax deductions. But as we’ll see, homeowners all over the country are feeling the effects.

I’m basing my analysis on numbers from two well-respected people: Mark Zandi, the chief economist of Moody’s Analytics; and Hugh Lamle, the retired president of M.D. Sass, a Wall Street investment management company.

[Wellstone ruled]

1. This has been the Heritage Foundations

Tax ideas for decades.

[PSPS]

2. LOL. Remember to never go to Propublica for accurate math (or headlines). Desperate click bait

You can read the piece for yourself but, in short, the only people being "hurt" by this reduction of deductability are those making 6 figures a year and owning (or wanting to buy) a million-dollar (or more) mansion. In fact, in the story itself, it actually says that the model they use for this "sky is falling" story, "isn’t applicable to most people because it works only for taxpayers with a household income of at least $200,000 a year who paid at least $1 million for their homes." LOL. The median income in the country is about $50K. I'm not going to worry about the parasite class having a hard time.

[TomCADem]

3. Media/Bias Fact Check - Propublica - Left/Center Bias - Factual Reporting: HIGH

https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/propublica/

ProPublica partners with 47 sources, including reputable left leaning news organizations such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, Politico, Bloomberg, NPR, PBS, ABC, BBC, Miami Herald and many others to produce and publish stories, and unless otherwise stated most of their stories are available for reprint under a Creative Commons license.

As a philanthropist, Sandler has donated approximately $1.5 billion in support of organizations involved in medical research, civil liberties groups such as the ACLU and scientific research, especially for diseases that affect low-income people, the environment, and human rights. According to a Vanity Fair article and the Washington Post, Herbert Sandler is an influential Clinton donor.

In review, ProPublica is criticized by right leaning news sources such as the Washington Examiner, for favoring the left in their investigative journalism: ProPublica is the left’s biggest muckraker you never heard of. However, Propublica defends their journalism and integrity with this response: “We stick with the facts, and several editors read every story”. In general, their investigations look at corruptions and abuses of power. While ProPublica purports to be non-partisan, a review of their recent reports are aimed at right leaning politicians and their issues.

Another example of left leaning bias can be found in the article titled “Senator Demands Answers From Case Farms” which contains a note at the end of article that reads “Do you have information about how immigrant workers are being treated in the age of Trump?” Mentioning Trump is conveying a negative bias towards Trump’s right leaning immigration policies.