WASHINGTON -- It's official, we have a new tax break for people who don't need it, with money our government doesn't have.

In an effort to stimulate the economy, the people who wouldn't know a balanced budget even if you smacked them in the head with it have extended the excessive first-time homeowner's credit of $8,000, but also expanded it to include a credit for current, long-time homeowners.

It just pains me to spell out the details of this latest stimulus windfall. But here I am letting you know about the new law, the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was signed into law on Nov. 6.

Let's start with the $8,000 first-time homeowner credit that was slated to expire at the end of November. If you're eligible, you must buy, or enter into a binding contract to buy, a principal residence on or before April 30. You have to close on the home by June 30.

Here's where things get ridiculously wild. Congress stretched the definition of what it means to be a first-time homebuyer to include a second group of people. I guess the members live in a fantasy world like little Max in "Where The Wild Things Are," where first doesn't mean first.

For the $8,000 credit, you are still considered a first-time homebuyer if you haven't owned a home for the previous three years. The credit is 10 percent of the purchase price of the home. So in most cases, the full credit will be available for homes costing $80,000 or more.

The new law has also created another category of so-called first-time homebuyers. The credit of up to $6,500 ($3,250 for a married individual filing separately) is available to current homeowners buying a replacement principal residence.

Seriously, this is what the law says about the folks eligible for the new $6,500 credit: "In the case of an individual (and, if married, such individual's spouse) who has owned and used the same residence as such individual's principal residence for any five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the date of the purchase of a subsequent principal residence, such individual shall be treated as a first-time homebuyer."

At least Congress could have been honest and not treated us like we're fools. If it wanted to give money to people who already owned homes, then just say so. Don't insult us. Continued...