When John F. Kennedy was President, just over a quarter of federal spending went to fund programs paying for some 21.7 million Americans to be dependent on Uncle Sam. But as high as that spending and dependence on the federal government was then, it has exploded today, with one in five Americans — more than 67.3 million — depending on Washington for assistance. The Heritage Foundation’s 2012 Index of Dependence on Government shows an alarming trend under the Obama Administration of a level of dependence on our government that has …
During his State of the Union speech, President Obama introduced a new plan to save responsible homeowner $3,000 a year on their mortgages by refinancing at historically low interest rates. Americans would be wise to be cautious, however, about the new efforts by the federal government. The federal government’s previous intervention in the market has distorted the housing market’s natural forces and postponed the economic recovery. So far, government interventions and the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have cost taxpayers $300 billion. The new plan may cost taxpayers …
Ready to trade in your car for a bike, or maybe a subway instead? Interested in fewer choices for your home, paying more for housing, and being crammed into a denser neighborhood? You can have all this and more if radical environmentalists and “smart growth” advocates have their way and local, state, and the federal government impose the policies set forth in the United Nations’ Agenda 21. You might have heard of this nefarious-sounding policy in a recent Republican presidential debate, but even if you haven’t, here’s some background information: …
News reports say that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will sue about 12 major banks in order to recover some of the losses that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sustained on mortgage-backed securities the banks issued. The suits will seek to make the banks repay a share of about $30 billion in losses from securities that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bought before they essentially failed and the FHFA took them into conservatorship in September 2008. Since any recovered money would reduce the over $150 billion the taxpayers have …
Four years after home values in America plummeted, fears over America’s housing market remain. In testimony before Congress yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cited “the continuing depressed condition of the housing sector” as one of the factors behind America’s sagging economy. In response to the poor market, the White House is reportedly considering a repeat of the historically bad decisions that contributed to the mortgage meltdown rather than pursuing a much saner course: eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a town hall last week, President Obama remarked that “the continuing …
Heritage expert David John recently wrote a paper titled “End Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Build Tomorrow’s Housing Finance System” What will ending Fannie and Freddie do to your mortgage? Will starting over have much of an impact on the housing market? Join our LIVE discussion and get your questions answered. Lunch with Heritage feat. David John
While most of us were at home waiting for Santa and his reindeer to arrive, a gift arrived for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as the Obama Administration lifted caps on how much bailout money they can receive from the U.S. Treasury. The old limits for the firms, both of which are under federal conservatorship, had been set at $200 billion each, though all concerned understood these were fictions. The new limits are… well, there are no new limits (which might be scored as a gain for transparency, …
Senate Analysis – Returning from their five-week summer vacation, Senators face an ambitious agenda that includes liberal health care reform, a cap-and-tax energy policy, financial regulatory overhaul, a new strategy in Afghanistan and, of course, appropriations. Some insiders have even mentioned comprehensive immigration and some variation of so-called “card check.” So it is telling that the very first bill the Senate takes up next week will be the twice-defeated Tourism Promotion Act, which would tax certain foreign visitors to the US. It appears that the vast, ambitious liberal agenda is …
At yesterday’s Bloggers Briefing at Heritage, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), ranking member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, touted a 26-page report that holds the government accountable for the housing crisis through its unsustainable drive to increase homeownership. The report sheds light on the unnecessary interference of government in the housing market. It singles out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to show how the U.S. entered an economic downturn that rippled around the world. (Heritage has long argued for reforming Fannie and Freddie by breaking up their stronghold …
As we come across them, we will post tributes to the legacy and life of Jack F. Kemp. This one comes from Mrs. Mildred Hailey, the founder of the nationwide movement of residents to manage and own their own public housing and Mrs. Cynthia Wiggins who succeeded Kimi Gray as head of their nationwide organization founded during Jack Kemp’s tenure as Secretary at HUD. “To Secretary Kemp’s Wife Joanne, Children and Family, on behalf of the leadership and families in public housing, affordable housing and section eight we send our sincere condolences. In …
