the buzz log

An Arkansas Home "Sold" Sign

Uncle Sam will give you the credit, but you'll have to pack your own moving boxes.

Hopeful renters longing for their own roof have been tracking the progress of the "8000 tax credit housing" (up 312% in Yahoo! searches on the Web) and "tax credit extension" (+50%). The "tax man" is feeling generous these days — Congress seems set on extending the credit beyond the Nov. 30 deadline and expanding the pool of qualified applicants.

That's not the only gimme. Homeowners who have been stuck in their digs for at least five years are being dangled a so-called "move-up" credit. Searches on Yahoo! for "6500 tax credit" have been busting out since the news broke.

Of course, not everyone is sold on those credits for first-time homebuyers (or people purchasing for the first time in three years). Some argue that the free money just subsidizes the real estate industry, since it keeps home prices inflated. Others say the 1.4 million households who cashed in probably would have bought their homes anyway. A Goldman Sachs analyst crunched numbers and said the first-time credit extension would probably only up sales by a miserly one percent.

During the first-time rush to own, observers complained that those move-up buyers—usually 80% of home-shoppers — were missing in action. 

Filed under: Real Estate, Taxes, Housing

In the last of our series, "A Searching Portrait: Barack Obama's 100 Days," here are the grumbles, economic obsessions, and stimulating controversies that dominated April 2009 searches. (Check for January, February and March posts on those past searches.)

Eruptions on the homefront
As people tried to understand the bloodshed from shoot-outs at home, attention would later shift to another national self-examination: the release of 2002 and 2005 CIA "torture memos," which outlined the legal argument for interrogations. Waterboarding remains the most scrutinized of these techniques. The turbulence of 100 days gets one more bump: Senator Arlen Specter squeezes in a high-profile defection from Republican Party to Democrat by day 100.

Overseas handshakes, domestic headaches
The Obama tour of Europe and the Mideast shows that diplomacy will be conducted very differently than the previous administration. At home, though, worries play out over the line between etiquette and subservience: Is "obamas gift to the queen" (also "obama ipod queen") consequential or silly? Could that 60-degree bend in presidential posture be interpreted as "obama bows to saudi king"? Even a basic greeting triggers a "chavez handshake debate" at the Americas Summit.

Taxing issues and a dogged solution
A famous colonial protest comes back in fashion with Tax Day Tea Protests, although a poll shows more Americans believe in paying their dues to Uncle Sam. So do Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, who release their 1040s to a curious public.

But there is no protest when the First Dog position is finally filled with Bo, the Portuguese water dog...well, no protests except from disappointed Labradoodle boosters and rescue dog lovers. But 10-year-old Malia Obama delivers a resounding verdict about the long-awaited national treasure: "I love him, he's perfect." And so let us end with the wisdom of children.

Filed under: Politics, Taxes, Government, Pets, Presidents, Barack Obama

Pardon me, would you like sugar with your protest?

As procrastinators hunker down to finish up their taxes, some American citizens—unhappy with the recent spate of federal and state taxes—want to revive a revolutionary spirit come April 15. Searches for “april 15 tea party” (+452%), “tea party protests” (+154%) and “tax day tea party” (+145%) have been fomenting on Yahoo!.

New taxes on tobacco products, the California tax on pet services, and other new levies have sparked outraged searches. Indeed, following the April 1 federal cigarette tax came a defiant Web rise in “tobacco seeds." 

Leading the grassroots Nationwide Tax Day Tea Party efforts are groups with names like Conservatives on Twitter. Radio host Sean Hannity has also been touting the event.

So, would turning in taxes on time contribute to the national good or encourage big government? Either way, taxes—and protests against taxes—are inevitable. Below are the 10 regions who may be contemplating a nice, hot cup of dissent.

Top “Tax Day Tea Party” Regions on Yahoo!, past 7 days

1. Atlanta
2. Dallas-Fort Worth
3. Houston
4. Washington, DC
5. Kansas City
6. Seattle-Tacoma
7. Jackson, Miss
8. Chicago
9. Orlando
10. New York

Filed under: Taxes, Protest