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DEL.ICIO.USFannie, Freddie rescue bad news?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“U.S. taxpayers will soon be active participants and financial stakeholders in the U.S. mortgage market, thanks to the Bush administration’s move to seize control of lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. When a homeowner decides to walk away from their mortgage obligation, you and I will be obligated to help,” writes Chris Ciovacco in an opinion column.
He concludes: “The government’s takeover of Fannie and Freddie does not make things much better, but it does prevent them from getting worse in terms of further constraints on Fannie’s and Freddie’s ability to support the mortgage market. While this may be good news for short-term stock traders, it is most certainly bad news for longer-term investors and taxpayers.”
What do you think?
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By Dawn
September 11, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this
Unfortunately, the takeoever moved had to be done. If he (Bush) had allowed these two large mortgage giants to go under it would have undoubtedly sent the financial markets into a tail spin and possibly on the verge of a crash.
Also, what Bush managed to do was give an appearance of helping the average current homeowner in trouble, but actually this move will not help them.
The major downside to this move is now the government is responsible and will have to hire competent individuals to manage this mess as well as reverse the a frighteningly alarming trend. And as we all know the slow to no moving grind of beuracracy, we might be in for more of the same.
By Jeff
September 11, 2008 2:00 PM | Link to this
What this now does is give the government your HOUSE as well as the property it sits on (it already claims the property via the property tax you pay every year).
That government is best which governs LEAST.
We continue to sink into a very scary era in which the individual has ZERO rights.
And neither the Democrats or Republicans care a THING about stopping it.
Indeed, they want it to progress even further even more rapidly.
Face it America, we ARE Communist Russia, and we will fail just as certainly as they did.
Our ONLY hope are those who hold to Individual Liberty above ALL else.
Men like Ron Paul and Bob Barr.
BARR 08: Liberty for America and TRUE ‘Change you can believe in’.
By RealityKing
September 11, 2008 2:02 PM | Link to this
We have to back our government guaranteed loans. But, we don’t have to make any more guarantees. And who is best suited to stop future government handouts…, a liberal democrat or maverick republican??
By catlady
September 11, 2008 4:28 PM | Link to this
RK, since it was the Republican President who oversaw these massive handouts and the bubble that aided them, do you really think more Republican government will help?
When will the little guy quit getting his pocket picked (or, in this case, armed robbery?)
By FreedomLover
September 11, 2008 6:54 PM | Link to this
“And who is best suited to stop future government handouts…, a liberal democrat or maverick republican??”
Do you really think either one of them will stop govt handouts? Come on, really? We all know they will both pander to their constituencies with more handouts. True change will not come from a crooked Chicago politician nor a cranky old man. Both will maintain the status quo, which will include billions more in handouts to their friends and contributors. The Auto industry is next.
By Copyleft
September 11, 2008 7:36 PM | Link to this
You’re assuming that all so-called “government handouts” are a bad thing. They’re not. Medicaid and Medicare, for example, are entirely legitimate “handouts.” So are veteran benefits and pensions.
The question is, which party will direct those funds to the RIGHT PEOPLE, and which will continue bailing out our corporate overlords?
By Jeff
September 12, 2008 5:21 AM | Link to this
Copyleft:
Yes, ALL government handouts are ‘bad things’ that cause even worse things.
Government was never designed to redistribute wealth. It was designed to preserve and protect ‘life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness’.
With redistribution of wealth, it instead severely curtails individual liberty and also dampens the pursuit of happiness, thereby invalidating that government from its very core.