Stimulus bipartisanship

I don't like bipartisanship. When Republicans and Democrats both agree on something more often than not it means you should run for cover. So it is with a heavy heart that I have to report Democrats and Republicans are finding common ground on the stimulus package:

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said that Senate Democrats were interested in considering Republican proposals to do more to help the sputtering housing market, including instituting a $15,000 tax credit for all home buyers.

“One of the Republican proposals is to raise the $7,500 tax credit we give to new home buyers, raise it to up $15,000 and do it for all home buyers,” Senator Schumer said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “That’s something that we look favorably upon.”

So let me get this straight. The government has spent the past several decades promoting policies that encourage more investment in the housing sector, helping to fuel a destructive bubble the aftershock of which is now hammering the economy, and both parties want to enact new measures to further encourage home buying?!?!?

Meanwhile, without government intervention the housing market is already starting to correct itself with both rents and prices on the decline. That in turn should make buying more attractive and cut costs for renters who can then spend the money elsewhere.