The Mess That Greenspan Made: Gambling with Fannie and Freddie

Gambling with Fannie and Freddie

Friday, February 20, 2009

Via Patrick.net:

5 comments:

Anonymous said...: All this constant thrashing around trying to save one major financial institution after another is getting VERY OLD!

It's pretty obvious that the system is seriously screwed up and constantly slapping more band aids on it is not going to stop the bleeding OR fix the underlying problems.

It seems as if Bush and now Obama are just chasing after a non-existent magic bullet that will fix the economy without anyone suffering any further pain. They seem scared to death that the Dow will fall each day or banks will fail - even if that is obviously what needs to happen to start to move forward again.

Ron Paul said a long time ago that all these ridiculous machinations to keep the current system alive will just make it worse when it dies. He was right.

This is incredibly harmful to the country. EVERY DAY we hear about another plan or another crisis or a new major effort to control the economy. IT NEVER WORKS!

This crap has been going on for a year now and it just keeps getting worse. We need to decide if we're going to be a free market economy and let the chips fall or if we want a Constitutional Convention where we can convert to something like socialism.

The current half-a$$ed solutions are a disaster.

Rick Santelli was right. We need a new Tea Party!; February 20, 2009 5:01 PM
Anonymous said...: At least socialism would do more for those on the lower end of the wealth scale. This is just plutocratic kleptocracy.; February 20, 2009 7:35 PM
Anonymous said...: It would work just as well if the cartoons of Freddie and Fannie were replaced by W and Slick Willie.; February 22, 2009 5:51 AM
Unknown said...: Fannie and Freddie getting way too much of a beating here. Since this has been written about ad nauseum, I'll just reiterate the points, you can look them up:

1) The GSEs did not cause the mortgage crisis. Private-label mortgage securities are the ones failing like crazy. Fannie/Freddie MBS are actually doing surprisingly well considering how much home prices are falling.

2) Fannie and Freddie didn't fail because of their mortgage securitization activity. They failed because they were severely undercapitalized, and because their for-profit investment activities were far too exposed to private-label MBS.

3) Given Fannie/Freddie's primary mission-- providing cheap mortgages to most Americans-- the losses they've incurred and are likely to incur are miniscule. Look at any other country in the world, and what you'll see is 30 year mortgage rates at 8%, 9%, or more. Generations and generations of Americans have been able to buy homes with affordable debt levels, thanks to the activities of the GSEs.

Of course we need substantial reforms of the way that Fannie and Freddie are regulated. In particular, it seems clear that a public mission and a for-profit incentive structure are at odds, particularly given their "too big to fail" status. On the other hand, the GSEs will cost the taxpayer far less than other too big to fail, private, entities, who did a small fraction of the activity that the GSEs did (Citi and AIG come to mind).

If we all want to start dealing with 8% mortgages, where many of us (including many who are now considered prime borrowers) may not even be able to get mortgages without usurious rates, then we should eliminate Fannie and Freddie. But consider the massive public mission they've served before taking that step. And stop listening to GOP-driven talking points in the media, designed to shirk the blame from where it belongs: Wall Street gone amok.; February 22, 2009 2:58 PM
Anonymous said...: Santelli is a racist who just doesn't get it! White racists like him don't want to help people out with their mortgages because they know that many of them are minorities. What they don't mention is that many of these people were scammed by the banks. But, it's not about mortgages it's about racism and immigrants who aren't white enough for them. These Angry White Guys (and Gals) who support Santelli think the 1965 Hart-Celler Immigration Act ruined America because it made it a lot harder for White Europeans from Ireland, England, France, Germany, Italy, etc. to immigrate to the U.S. and made it a lot easier for the Chinese, Indians, Jamaicans, Mexicans, Egyptians, etc. to immigrate to the U.S. What these white racists don't understand is that the 1965 Hart-Celler Immigration Act has greatly increased Diversity in the U.S. which has made us a much stronger nation and a much more multicultural rich nation. Before 1965 Whites made up 88% of the U.S. population. But since the 1965 Hart-Celler Immigration Act was passed (thanks to Ted Kennedy) and signed by President Lyndon Johnson the white Europen race has continued to decrease in America. Whites of European descent now only make up 65% of the U.S. population and by 2042 they will only make up 49% of the population. By 2100 Whites will only make up about 30% of the U.S. population and also by the year 2100 only 3% of the World Population will be White. By the end of this century white Europeans will be out of power in the United States(FINALLY!) and then we can finally end WHITE PRIVILEDGE and can get REAL Housing Equality, REAL Affirmative Action, REAL Reparations, REAL Change, and begin to redistribute wealth and property back to those who deserve it. Unfortunately, this won't happen until the White Kids who are in strollers and Elementary School today are in their 60's and 70's. The World is Flat. The white racist like Santelli just don't seem to get it!; February 22, 2009 6:43 PM

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