Kids get cribs in homebuyer tax credit scheme

I would love to have taken advantage of the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit the government was giving out this year. All you needed to do was make below a certain income and have not owned a home in the last three years and the credit was yours if you bought a new crib (which you were already likely to be getting at a steep discount and with a mortgage with a low rate). I fell back because I wasn't ready to buy yet but apparently, there were some pretty affluent children who were. That's right: more than 580 people under age 18 received tax credits worth more than $4 million under the program, which was meant to help legitimate first-time homebuyers and to prevent more foreclosures. Of course those homes weren't bought by the kids themselves but by their parents who wanted to get around the government's income guidelines by committing fraud. Of course that was revealed last week, as Congress is in a debate over whether to extend the credit beyond this year. Check out some of these stories on it: ABC News Wall Street Journal Bloomberg

photo: freedigitalphotos.net

A challenge to give

My appearance on NPR yesterday focused on a $50 billion fraud by one of Wall Street's biggest investors, who bilked everyone from sports team owners to charitable foundations out of their money. One charity in Boston even had to close its doors and fire all its staff as a result.

Thievery aside, the talk about charity got me thinking a bout how difficult it must be for those who are struggling and those who help them at this point in history. There's a perfect storm of bad circumstances for the needy: millions of the newly jobless are hitting the streets just as the most people are cutting back even on personal necessities, much less charitable contributions.

So I've resolved to make a donation, not much -- maybe $50 or so -- to some charity that directly helps the needy with food, clothing or shelter, before the year ends. I'm not sure which charity that'll be, so I'm taking suggestions.

In the meantime, I'm challenging everyone who reads this to do the same, no matter the amount. People are suffering through a rough economy, and even if you can only spare $5, that $5 could help someone in desperate need. I'll make another post once I've done the deed, and in the meantime, please share where and what you've given on the comments page.