Over $800 million in taxpayers' money goes straight into the home builders' pockets
No matter if they don't need the money? According to the reporter, Gretchen Morgenson of the NY Times:Among the biggest beneficiaries are home builders, analysts say. Once again, at the front of the government assistance line, stand some of the very companies that contributed mightily to the credit crisis by building and financing too many homes.

Check out this completely outrageous story stemming from the most recent stimulus package from Congress:

On November 6th, President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 into law, extending unemployment benefits by 20 weeks and renewing the first-time homebuyer tax credit until next April.

So far so good.

But tucked inside the law was another prize: a tax break that lets big companies offset losses incurred in 2008 and 2009 against profits booked as far back as 2004. The tax cuts will generate corporate refunds or relief worth about $33 billion, according to an administration estimate.

Not necessarily a bad thing if in fact that money went towards hiring laid-off workers.

Before the bill became law, the so-called look-back on losses was limited to small businesses and could be used to counterbalance just two years of profits. Now the profit offset goes back five years, and the law allows big companies to take advantage of it, too. The only companies that can’t participate are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and any institution that took money under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

OK...so a program that was originally created to help small businesses is now benefitting any sized company? No matter if they don't need the money? According to the reporter, Gretchen Morgenson of the NY Times:

Among the biggest beneficiaries are home builders, analysts say. Once again, at the front of the government assistance line, stand some of the very companies that contributed mightily to the credit crisis by building and financing too many homes.

And how much tax payer money are they likely to receive?

Pulte Homes, which will receive refunds exceeding $450 million under the new law, has $1.5 billion in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet, according to its most recent financial statement.

Hovnanian Enterprises is another big beneficiary of the tax break. It anticipates a refund of $250 million to $275 million next year. It had $550 million in cash in its most recent quarter.

Smaller recipients include Standard Pacific, which is poised to reap cash refunds of $80 million under the new tax break. According to its most recent financial filing, Standard Pacific held $523 million in cash and cash equivalents.

Finally, Beazer Homes told investors that it expects to receive a refund of $50 million. The company reported cash and equivalents of $557 million at the end of September.

Did you tally the amount these four companies are scheduled to receive? Just these four companies alone will get over $800 million in tax-loss carry-back refunds!!

And for what exactly are they planning on using this money? It's hard to tell:

Ken Campbell, the chief executive of Standard Pacific, said the money would allow his company to continue buying land. "Will we build more houses or will there be more people employed in the first quarter? Probably not," he said. "Will employment accelerate when the market starts to grow? It will."

Caryn Klebba, a spokeswoman for Pulte Homes, said in a statement that the company planned to use the funds it receives "to support its current operations and, when market conditions improve, fund future growth and expansion."

As Morgenson states, it's very obvious that "job creation does not seem imminent, notwithstanding the claims of the administration or those in Congress who supported the giveaway. Pretending to promote job creation, the government is dispensing cash to companies that either do not need it or need it precisely because they didn't run their businesses prudently. Isn’t there something wrong with that picture?"

Post-script: Check out the return on investment to these companies' lobbying efforts:

Among individual companies, Lennar spent $240,000 lobbying while companies affiliated with Hovnanian Enterprises spent $222,000. Pulte Homes spent $210,000 this year. That's some return on investment. After spending its $210,000, Pulte will receive $450 million in refunds. And Hovnanian, after spending its $222,000, will get as much as $275 million.

Where's the outrage? How on earth did this pass?