The $8,000 fraud for beginners

And it wasn't entrapment. It's as though the government really intended the $8,000 housing credit to be so easy to steal. Not since we saw Katrina "victims" shopping at high end stores for designer purses have we seen such chaos in a government program. According to testimony:

• 19,000 filers for the $8,000 tax credit hadn't purchased a home
  
• 74,000 filers (for $500 million in credits) weren't first time buyers
  
• The refundable tax credit was even for those who don't pay any taxes
  
• Required very little documentation
  
• 53 of the criminal filers were IRS employees [following in Geithner's footsteps?]
  
• Congress plans to extend this abusive, wasteful, chaotic plan. . .because?
  
• It costs $1 billion a month, $15 billion so far this year
  
• It drives capital into homes instead of other investments which could help restore the economy
  
• It hasn't boosted sales--most of the buyers (the honest ones) would have bought a home anyway
  
• It delays housing prices returning to "normal"

See today's Wall Street Journal for confirmation.

Oh, and that IRS employee story? Broken by Fox Business channel.