As President Obama today signed into law the Dodd-Frank financial regulation bill, two words were left unspoken: Fannie and Freddie. Yet they not only played a major role in creating the housing bubble that led to the meltdown of 2008, they stand today as the primary remaining bailout debtors to the U.S. treasury.
As shown in this chart, the two bankrupt mortgage giants owe almost half — 45% — of the outstanding bailout money from the federal treasury. And as Heritage fellows David John and James Gattuso pointed out in a recent op-ed in USA Today, rather than paying it off, that debt is getting bigger.
“The fight over the changes to U.S. financial regulation was bruising,” writes The Wall Street Journal in a July 17 editorial. “The coming debate over what to do with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac promises to be even more contentious.” Especially if congressional leaders show no willingness to stop showering Fannie and Freddie with taxpayer funds.
Fannie & Freddie are not free of guilt. But the financial losses conservatorship is socializing have no less to do with the games rating agencies and banks played than the devilish duo's book cooking. The numbers presented here only show part of the story.
There's also little justification for distinguishing between AIG and other financial institutions in the chart.The notes read like a how-to on data distortion. The numbers provided seem almost ostentatiously doctored…
Paul, are you trying to tarnish the Foundation's credibility? Has the Leadership for America been had by a black PR infiltration? Are you – dare I ask – a Russian spy?
Frank and Dodd should be in prison for past deeds with Fannie and Freddie.They are crooks. Instead they get lauded for new legistation to "control" big business! When are we going to wise up?
A few years ago, did Frank assure the American public that Freddie and Fannie we doing just fine? Is it not true that Dodd received "special deals" with certain banking groups? Why would anyone feel that when these two thieves,
liars, and Obama's lackeys got together they would do anything but add futher disaster for the American economy?
Why would Dodd and Frank want to regulate Fannie and Freddy when those two institutions, under their control, have succeeded so well in creating the banking crisis? One too valuable to waste.
Putting Dodd and Frank in charge of Freddy and Fannie regulation is like putting John Dillinger and Willie Sutton in charge of Bank security.
Putting Dodd and Frank in charge of regulating Freddy and Fannie is like putting John Dillinger and Willie Sutton in charge of Bank Security.
Goes to show what liars and crooks the Democrats are. They try and force businesses to do something to show the Democrats care, to get the vote and then blame everybody but Santa Claus and themselves when things so sour.
How can anyone living in the real world belive that the two biggest IDIOTS in Congress involved in Financial matters like Frank and Dodd, one who went public several times to preach that there shall no housinh Bubble and the other taking "favours" from Countrywide while both taking Pay offs from Freddie and Fannie ( Johnson, Gorelick, and Raines) have any live and non cottupted btrain cells to formulate Honest Financial policies???? Other that the three Stooges, Obummer, Reid and Pelosi that is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y56lGWvVsrc
Just for the RECORD…..
Chris Dodd himself asked where the Bush Administration was when Fannie and Freddie needed a bailout. Bush was calling for congress to regulate Fannie and Freddie since April 2001