Having dug through a lot of emails on the subject, let me make a few points: 1) I’m not saying that capping the mortgage-interest deduction in return for getting rid of the AMT wouldn’t cause some people to pay higher tax bills. It would. 2) I’m not saying that this proposal is good politics. It probably isn’t. I have always thought that Republicans shouldn’t try anything big on tax reform precisely because it invariably involves inflicting pain on your constituents (and because there are other ways to move toward a better tax system). 3) All I have argued is that the policy probably would not cause the housing market to crash or “crater,” by, for example, stimulating home sales. 4) All of that said, do I believe that the purpose of the federal government is to help Corner readers maintain $1 million mortgages? No. But I’m not running for anything.