The Wichita BureauOn the McCain Real Estate Bailout

Wichita recycles an old favorite:

The efficiency of the post oiffice. The compassion of the IRS.

Wichita offers assorted additional insights on the proposal no one seems to love:

Aside from the tax consequences to the debtor (here comes the IRS to take away the house for nonpayment of taxes on debt forgiveness income), how would it work?

We could assign FEMA to do it –

Anyone who had to deal with the former federal farm agencies in trying to negotiate debt settlements has some clue as to how hard that is.

First they would have to write about a million regulations.

Then (or perhaps while writing the regs) they’d have to staff up (although that may be the easy part; going to be a lot of realtors, brokers and bankers looking for work).

Then they would have to send everyone to some educational seminars.

Then they could start negotiating.

Meantime, there is no incentive to the borrower to insure or maintain the house, pay the taxes and try to make payments.

The efficiency of FEMA, the compassion of the IRS and the practical good sense of a rock.

I know – make it a rehab effort and farm it out to the prison system. Going to have a lot of brokers and folks with the right backgrounds in prison.side from the tax consequences to the debtor (here comes the IRS to take away the house for nonpayment of taxes on debt forgiveness income), how would it work?

We could assign FEMA to do it –

Anyone who had to deal with the former federal farm agencies in trying to negotiate debt settlements has some clue as to how hard that is.

First they would have to write about a million regulations.

Then (or perhaps while writing the regs) they’d have to staff up (although that may be the easy part; going to be a lot of realtors, brokers and bankers looking for work).

Then they would have to send everyone to some educational seminars.

Then they could start negotiating.

Meantime, there is no incentive to the borrower to insure or maintain the house, pay the taxes and try to make payments.

The efficiency of FEMA, the compassion of the IRS and the practical good sense of a rock.

I know – make it a rehab effort and farm it out to the prison system. Going to have a lot of brokers and folks with the right backgrounds in prison.