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Politics : A Neutral Corner -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (202)	9/17/2005 8:16:33 AM
From: MulhollandDrive	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2253

apparently he is getting some good feedback hopefully this type of approach (sweat equity) will be fully implemented Message 21711569 Times-Picayune - Utt said that although Bush didn't say so directly Thursday, he signaled he's prepared to give displaced Gulf Coast residents housing vouchers they can use to rent vacant apartments in areas where they have family connections or a chance at a job. Tax write-offs Aides fleshed out a few details of the president's plan during a briefing Friday. The Gulf Opportunity Zone would cover the most stricken Gulf Coast communities, including the New Orleans area. It would provide a 50 percent tax write-off for investment in buildings or equipment. For small businesses, it would provide a 100 percent write-off for investments of as much as $200,000 and subsidized loans of as much as $10 million. "The president believes very strongly that this is going to have a major, major impact on economic growth and economic growth in the short run, which is so important to creating those jobs where people will come back to New Orleans, southern Mississippi and southern Alabama," said Al Hubbard, director of the president's National Economic Council. Another component is a $5,000 worker recovery account, which displaced workers can use for job training, child care, transportation or even housing costs - if related to their pursuit of a job. Eligibility would be determined by regional and state officials, and it would be limited to those designated as the "hardest to employ." Those in the program who find work after receiving unemployment insurance for less than 13 weeks could get 60 percent of leftover recovery account funds as an "employment bonus," Hubbard said, and the remaining 40 percent could be theirs if they keep their jobs for at least six months. 'Sweat equity' housing The president's homestead proposal would make available about 4,000 single-family housing units, mostly homes repossessed by the federal government. An estimated 1,000 are in the New Orleans area. The administration said details still are being worked out, but officials want to make the units available through a lottery to low-income residents who agree to fix them up through sweat equity, with the help of nonprofit groups such as Habitat for Humanity. All the units are habitable, according to Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, and they generally need about $5,000 to $10,000 worth of renovation. The administration also plans to provide displaced residents with an initial payment of $2,000. For those who owned a home damaged severely in the hurricane, another $26,000 in federal financing would be available to cover long-term housing, as a supplement to their insurance, or to help those left without any coverage. Jacob Vigdor, an assistant professor of public policy and economics at Duke University, said he wonders whether that assistance will be enough, given that in many cases, even those with insurance live in homes whose insured value is less than the cost to replace the structure. Dems target tax cuts Some Democrats, including former President Clinton, have suggested Bush should, at least temporarily, pull back extending the tax cuts from his first term in office, at least for the most affluent Americans, to defray the cost of the Katrina rebuilding efforts. Some Republicans complained Bush had proposed an immensely expensive proposition without targeting spending that could be reduced to offset the cost. Bush said he won't raise taxes because it would hurt the economy. "You bet it's going to cost money. But I'm confident we can handle it and I'm confident we can handle our other priorities," he said during a news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "It's going to cost whatever it costs." He said he favors looking for ways to cut other spending. nola.com.