Enact real tax reform instead of making it worse.

Maya MacGuiness' proposal to eliminate homeowner mortgage tax deductions and other deductions is absurd. Indeed, President Bush's tax reform panel's suggestion to limit the deductions is almost as bad.

MacGuiness' reasons for tax deduction reform are clearly misguiding, and certainly wrong-headed. Among her reasons is the notion that people who are buying homes for the tax breaks are inflating the price of homes, which is simply not true.

The reason home prices increased over the past two decades is because of the change in qualifying income. Previously, a wife's income was not considered. Since that changed, the demand for larger homes increased and home inflation began. Now, it takes two incomes to qualify for most homes, and wives and mothers must work whether they want to or not.

Real tax reform would be to repeal the income tax and all payroll taxes, and establish a fair national consumption or sales tax system. The "Fairtax" proposal is now being considered in Congress. Voters should support it by contacting their elected representatives.