Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008

hmoroz — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:49:06 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of the benefits of the child tax credit that went to families in the top 40% of the income distribution in 2005: 60

Maximum percentage of the benefits of the child tax credit that went to families in the lowest 20% of the income distribution in 2005: 1

Estimated number of children that the child tax credit provision in the legislation would benefit: 13 million

Estimated number of children who would become newly eligible for the child tax credit under the legislation: 2.9 million

Estimated industry revenues from renewable energy and efficiency in 2006, in dollars: 970 billion

Estimated lost investment if federal tax credits for solar and wind energy are not extended, in dollars: 19 billion

Estimated jobs in the renewable energy and efficiency industry in 2006: 8.5 million

Estimate number of jobs that could be lost if federal tax credits for solar and wind energy are not extended: 116,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. While politicians are proposing short-term band-aids to deal with rising fuel costs, middle-class Americans are increasingly feeling the effects of an energy policy that harms the environment and favors large oil companies. The energy tax credit expansions and extensions in the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act are part of a long-term strategy to alleviate high fuel costs, make the country more energy efficient, and ensure that the economy retains jobs in renewable energy and technology. Indeed, a recent study demonstrated that failure to extend energy tax credits for solar and wind power could result in the loss of 116,000 jobs. With the middle class already feeling the effects of weak employment, Congress must strengthen a renewable energy and energy efficiency industry that benefits both the environment and the economy.

Aspiring middle-class families with children are in a particularly difficult situation in an economy of high food, fuel, and health care costs. The Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act’s changes to the child tax credit would make 2.9 million additional children eligible for the benefit and would increase the benefit for 10.1 million more. Expanding the income floor for the credit means that very low-income aspiring middle-class families, who currently benefit less from the credit than higher-income families, will receive the support they need to make ends meet.

The revenue raising provisions of the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act not only make the legislation fiscally responsible, but make the tax code fairer by eliminating loopholes exploited wealthy executives and multinational corporations.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy”, from the Apollo Alliance

“Taxation and the Family: What is the child tax credit?” from the Tax Policy Center

“Families Helped by the Child Tax Credit Expansion Work Hard in Low-Paying Jobs” from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 [Revised Bill]

atraub — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:37:17 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Amount of mortgage-related assets that the Federal Reserve assumed as collateral for a loan it made to facilitate the sale of Bear Sterns to J.P. Morgan Chase: $30 billion

Amount this bill provides in tax refunds for businesses that claim a loss: $6.1 billion

Amount this bill provides to state and local governments across the country to shore up neighborhoods devastated by mortgage foreclosures: $4 billion

Estimated number of foreclosures prevented if Congress lifted the ban on loan modifications by bankruptcy courts, a provision this bill does not include: 600,000

Amount of home equity saved if Congress lifted the ban on court-supervised loan modifications that would otherwise be lost because of foreclosures of neighboring properties: $72.5 billion

Amount that lifting the ban on court-supervised loan modifications would cost middle-class taxpayers: $0

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Supports. With two million families facing the loss of their homes over the next two years and large sectors of the U.S. economy destabilized by mortgage defaults, the foreclosure crisis and the wider turmoil it has caused are among the greatest threats to middle-class Americans today. This bill responds to that threat, although not in the most effective way. The bill is stuffed with costly and irrelevant provisions, while the positive steps it does include fail to go far enough to help struggling families. The single most effective measure proposed to address the crisis – a change in bankruptcy law that would prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures – was killed as an amendment. Meanwhile some provisions that did make it into the final bill could even make the foreclosure problem worse.

Positive measures in the bill include FHA modernization, which will enable more homeowners to refinance problematic mortgages. The block grants for communities hard hit by the crisis to reclaim foreclosed properties and turn them into affordable homes is another very positive step, but here too the amount of funding may be too little to revitalize neighborhoods in need. Funding for mortgage counseling is also beneficial, but inadequate. And while enhanced mortgage disclosures are helpful, they are no substitute for a genuine ban on deceptive lending practices along the lines enacted by some state governments. The tax exempt bonds for state agencies to refinance subprime loans is a modest effort which will inevitably bail out lenders, whose lax standards helped cause the crisis, along with struggling homeowners.

While provisions to help homeowners and devastated communities are stingy, home builders and other businesses facing economic losses due to the downturn reap $6.1 billion in tax breaks. This provision has little to do with helping prevent foreclosure and is not even a cost-effective means of economic stimulus. The property tax deduction for non-itemizers is similarly problematic. While many middle-class families might see a small tax break under this provision, the credit is not substantial enough to help families who face foreclosure or are having serious difficulties making mortgage payments and is not targeted at these homeowners. To make matters worse, the deduction is limited to people who live in areas that have not raised property taxes. This creates an incentive for states and municipalities to cut services that middle-class families rely on rather than raising the revenue needed to preserve them. Finally, the tax credit for buying a foreclosed home might, as the Washington Post point out, actually encourage more home foreclosures.

The alternative energy tax breaks, added at the last minute, are similar to those included in the House’s Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act. Providing the public investment necessary to jump start the development and promotion of renewable energy sources and ultimately mitigate global warming sweetens what is otherwise a unsatisfactory effort to deal with the home mortgage crisis. Middle-class Americans will ultimately see some benefit from this bill – but they deserve better.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Senate Housing Legislation Highly Disappointing” from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

Mortgage Lending page from the Center for Responsible Lending

Property taxes

Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources

Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008 [Revised Bill]

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Related Blog: Header

Quotes from Experts

Related Blog: Text

Beyond this Bill

Related Blog: Link

Additional Resources