I am a straight blogger. I believe I treat everyone fairly and I take Havel up on his slogan to be tough but fair to all sides.

CRIKEY HELPS MR LATHAM
If Latham wants to play with negative gearing, he can target it to affordable housing. It is clearly going to be politically unpalatable - and economically dangerous - to remove it, but why not only provide the benefit to where it is actually needed?
Negative gearing could be targeted towards properties rented at a certain level. If he wanted to be really clever, Latham could devise a policy that linked negative gearing with housing for the people who receive some level of Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
* stop ordinary Joes funding real estate speculators
* free up some money to put towards decent tax breaks that can benefit marginal taxpayers while ensuring a supply of affordable housing for those who need it
* keep inflation in check, as rents for this sector would remain relatively static, and if a significant cost such as housing is under control, you are a long way to keeping inflation low
* push more environmentally responsible building by decreasing demand for resource-intensive trophy housing and boosting the market for modest accommodation (particularly when it is designed to reduce the utility bills of the intended occupants.
housing)
* slow the housing market to more sustainable levels, without a dramatic bust.
· Boom/Bust [crikey.com ]