Breaking Down the Housing Policy Debate (How we have sold out by progressives and corporations)

The Atlantic ^ | July 30, 2010 | Daniel Indiviglio

[whitedog57]

With the Wall Street regulation bill behind Congress, it has already begun to tackle the next big fiscal issue: housing policy reform. With the government sponsored entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shaping up to be the most costly of all bailout recipients, it's a problem that deserves serious attention. What should Washington decide?

First, here's a spoiler for how the debate will end: the government will maintain its strong influence in the housing market for decades, if not centuries, to come. The reason why has to do with a very unusual alliance when it comes to housing policy. Bankers and progressives will find themselves on the same page. Banks want government guarantees so they don't have to worry about risk and can keep making easy money off real estate. Progressives want government to expand home ownership so that everyone can live the American Dream.

...

This was again made clear in a House committee hearing today on Capitol Hill exploring housing market policy. When Rep. Kanjorski (D-PA) asked who among the panelists would like to see the government's influence in the mortgage market disappear entirely, only one panelist raised his hand -- Anthony Sanders, a professor from the libertarian-leaning Mercatus Center at George Mason University. The other panelists included several industry participants and a scholar from the progressive think tank the Center for American Progress.

If you think it's unfair that poorer Americans can't buy homes, then you believe the government has an important role to play here. But this effort would probably only amount to the government having tens of billions of dollars in mortgage exposure, not several trillion as it does now.

...

[whitedog57]

This is so disgusting. Only ONE person had the courage to stand up to the Democrats, affordable housing groups, banks and mortgage insurance companies, all who demand 3% down mortgages paid for by tax payers. Of course, with the FHA, Fannie and Freddie guaranteeing their business.

Seriously, all these fools have sold us into slavery in terms of taxation.

[dalebert]

all we did was dump a bunch of cash on theives..the cost of refinance was tacked onto your loan.if you lost your job how would you make payments and we could have paid off the mortgages cheaper than what the government spent. throwing good money after bad never works..and what happened to the ones that took the money....nothing.

[whitedog57]

I agree. But the banks and mortgage insurance companies all are backing Fannie and Freddie. Its so disgusting.

Corporatism is the name that Mussolini used to describe it.

But even the community banks are in on it.

[dalebert]

its because they are all getting rich off the american people and dont have to work for a dime of it. WE NEED A TOTAL AUDIT TO FIND OUT WHERE OUR CASH WENT. AUDIT THE FED FIRST

[Oldexpat]

Who represents the taxpayers in this circle? Sounds like no one.

[dalebert]

only crooks represented

[LomanBill]

Corporatism IS Collectivism IS Communism

All of the above subjugate the individual for the benefit of the collectivized agenda. Nothing new - it's the same flaw in collective human nature recognized by Thomas Jefferson when he articulated the notion that:

"COMMERCE BETWEEN MASTER AND SLAVE IS DESPOTISM"