Taxpayers in states along the East and West Coasts are grabbing the lion’s share of tax savings from the mortgage interest deduction, the third largest tax expenditure that saved taxpayers filers deducted about $72 billion in 2011.

The benefits of the mortgage interest deduction skews heavily toward certain states, particularly along parts of the East and West Coasts.  The percentage of tax filers deducting mortgage interest ranges from nearly 37 percent in Maryland to 15 percent in West Virginia and North Dakota.  The average mortgage interest deduction for all tax filers (not just those taking the deduction) varied from a high of $4,580 per tax filer in Maryland to a low of $1,192 per filer in North Dakota, according to a new report released yesterday by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The national average was $2,713.

The variation across metropolitan areas within states is even greater, with tax filers in larger areas generally claiming the deduction at much higher rates and greater average amounts than filers in medium- and small-size areas. In Texas, for example, the state’s highest claim rate-in the Austin area-is 4 times larger than the lowest rate, in the Odessa area.

With the housing recovery and higher home values, the mortgage interest deduction is expected to grow and become more of a target for tax reformers in Washington.  Before the onset of the housing crisis in 2007 the total mortgage interest deducted by tax filers peaked at $543 billion in deductions and roughly $85 billion in forgone revenue.  Between 2007 and 2010, the total amount deducted fell 28 percent, and the number of claims declined by 12 percent.

Have you ever stumbled upon a blog and thought…”Was this written by an android, a robot or was it a Martian?“

Maybe it was produced by someone that had a personality bypass.

Whatever it was, it didn’t seem human.

That, I think touches on what a “voice” is.

It is about being human, displaying a personality and willing to be vulnerable.

Then the real fun starts.

Writing and creating from the “real” you is your voice. That can be daunting and  exposing. Your internal conversations start the jabber….”What if I show a side of me that no one likes or thinks is stupid?”

Looking daft or dork is not cool.

In fact we were all raised on the human craft of hiding behind a facade when the school playground often rewarded the strong, the fake and the facile.

Many childhoods are lived in quiet desperation of hiding the real “you.”

Being grown up means accepting yourself for all its glorious imperfections.

A formula, an evolution or a revelation?

I don’t have a process or a magic potion to finding a writing voice or an expression formula but let’s have a look at what happens when you start to write and create in an online world.  What happens when you start to publish on social media networks or your blog.

The journey commences.

I am curious and wanting to express my insights. I write. I record and express myself. The publish button is struck! The blog post is live and the YouTube video is online!

No clapping or cheering can happen until you step onto the stage.

There the music is revealed, the words are displayed and your design is exposed.

Whoa!…on the internet two billion web users can see your thoughts and concepts in black and white and high definition in all its wonderful glory and imperfection.

If you are honest the world will show up and say “fabulous” …work harder and maybe “well done”.

Your genius that is you is on display.

Don’t like what you hear? Then there is more work to do. The fun stuff is in growing….not shrinking!

That is sometimes a painful revelation but is part of your journey of personal evolution.

The unique you

There is only one “unique you”. Own it and embrace it with two arms and welcoming introspection.

It’s all you’ve got.

The strange thing is that creating a writing “voice” is more a journey of subtle growth that happens by stealth and mundane action.

Sitting down to write in the small hours. Staying up so late that the next morning you ask yourself…”Was that necessary?”

It is turning up and “doing the work”.

Influencers and stealing ideas and inspiration

I have had some strange influencers on my writing and expression including Jeremy Clarkson of “Top Gear” fame.

An introduction to a car review that is is 900 words of fun, humour and stories and 100 words of features and functions about a Porsche, Ferrari or Skoda with maybe a telling pithy insight.

That is it.

Who would have thought that. Inspiration from a car magazine writer.

Inspiration comes from content and creators who can be geeks, intellectuals or artists.  These can be taken from any walk of life and whose ideas are so good that you want to steal them.

Just ask David Bowie.

“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff I can steal from”

What is your voice?

So what is you?

Your persona and humanity is multi-dimensional and many faceted. It is a jumble of experience, thoughts, expression and passions.

Here are some tips to find your voice.

1. Show your personality

Your voice is your personality on display… warts and all. Place a stake in the ground. Put your hand up and say “this is what I think, believe and feel”. I believe in this and I am sharing it.

When that happens people start trusting and listen. This is how I am and this is how I talk.

That is an insight into your voice.

2. Display your humor

Is you humour dark, dry or ironic? Don’t let your children, friends and family’s seemingly innocous non appreciation dissuade you. Press on.

Have fun.

Sometimes the crowd doesn’t get it. You are not creating for the masses…only those who are fans and believers.

Some of them live in a distant town on the other side of the world. They are your neighbours.

3. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes

The audience you want to communicate with will help you define your voice. How you write will be be also woven into who you are writing for. It must be kept in mind that most people read at a grade school level. Trying to be smart and clever by using big  words and complicated sentences will just make them click away.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

4. Expose your imperfections

Accepting that you are not perfect but a product of a life journey can empower you to realise, write and reveal the naked you. People will find a voice that is transparent and full of bumps, scrapes and scratches will produce a voice tapestry that is much more interesting than a mass produced sound of blandness.

People read books and watch movies to see life’s dramas in all its glory. That is much more interesting than a manufactured sound.

5. Reveal your passion

Allowing the passion that drives you  to radiate and express your ideas and creativity will allow the genius that is you to shine. Passion is not a singular word but a synergy of interests, skills and focus that is wrangled and woven together.

Put passion on display.

A primary passion might lead the pack but all around it are the chorus of sounds that make the symphony rich and deep. Put them up to the light, place them on a pedestal and let them sing.

Talk and write how you “feel”.

6. Tell your stories

Your voice can be evolved as you tell your stories that make up the days and years that is your life. Those stories can be tales of woe, insightful experiences or even just plain side splitting fun.

Tell those tales and let them communicate a powerful message.

7. Develop brand “you”

Can you write down a few key words and phrases that could encapsulate you and could be turned into a caricature or a logo. This is more an art more than a science but is worth a try.

Sally Hogshead is an author that wrote the book “Fascinate”. Her byline is an insight into her brand voice.

“A hogshead is a barrel that holds 62 gallons, so what’s your name smartass”

Now, that is part of her voice and reveals her personality and sense of life. You can’t borrow or steal that line but you can learn from it.

What about you?

What is your voice? Are you putting your personality on display? Are you willing to be judged.

Now that is a scary thought.

Are you telling your story and revealing your passions. Don’t hide behind a faceless set of words. Are you willing to stand up.

We stand outside the arena and say “I am going to go in and kick some ass when I am bullet proof and perfect. That is seductive. The truth is that you will never be perfect” – Author Brene Brown “Daring Greatly”

Let the words you create speak for you.

 

 

 

Want to learn how to create a powerful blog that has “your” voice?

My book – “Blogging the Smart Way – How to Create and Market a Killer Blog with Social Media” – will show you how.

It is now available to download. I show you how to create and build a blog that rocks and grow tribes, fans and followers on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It also includes dozens of tips to create contagious content that begs to be shared and tempts people to link to your website and blog.

I also reveal the tactics I used to grow my Twitter followers to over 140,000.

Download and read it now.

 

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Arnab Chakraborty, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois, has identified another factor in the crisis – neighborhood zoning. According to a study published in the journal Housing Policy Debate, communities that zoned too strictly for the development of large, single-family homes have a higher risk for foreclosure when compared to areas that accommodate a broader spectrum of housing options.

“It intuitively makes sense,” Chakraborty said. “If you push too much housing in the high-price sector, then people who would otherwise buy cheaper housing would either be forced to buy more expensive housing or move elsewhere. It is, ultimately, a question of choice for the homebuyers.”

Chakraborty and two doctoral students, Dustin Allred and Robert H. Boyer, focused on mortgages that had entered the foreclosure process from 2005 through 2008, the period of the housing bubble. The study used data from six metropolitan areas across the United States – Baltimore-Washington, D.C.; Boston; Miami; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Portland, Ore.; and Sacramento, Calif. – chosen to represent a variety of real estate markets and regulatory approaches.

These six metro areas included 129 municipalities and a wide range of zoning types. To determine what proportion of land each community reserved for large homes, the researchers created four broad zoning classifications based on the maximum number of households allowed per acre, ranging from a high of more than eight units per acre down to the least dense category – less than one unit per acre.

The researchers adopted a similarly broad definition of foreclosure risk, counting any mortgage that entered the foreclosure process, regardless of the ultimate outcome. “We did that for a very specific reason, which is that foreclosure regulations vary a great deal state to state,” Chakraborty said. “The fact that the mortgage loan entered foreclosure was an indicator that the homeowner was under some vulnerability.”