Bailout Costs Double as Taxpayers Pick Up the Bill [Your Wallet and Your Life]

Center for Fiscal Accountability ^ | 2011-06-07 | Soren Kreider

[92nina]

When the federal government stepped in to prevent Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing in 2008, it stuck the taxpayers with a hefty bill. Since 2008, the federal government has sunk $162.4 billion into these government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) without any form of taxpayer protection. But the true magnitude of the cost this bailout has foisted upon the taxpayer is actually far greater, according to a report released by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) last week.

By putting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship, the federal government effectively became the owner of both entities. Yet the government’s accounting practices still treat these mortgage giants as outside entities and thus their liabilities do not appear in the government’s ledger. When the CBO eliminated the accounting gimmicks and treated the costs of these GSEs just as they would other government agencies, the true cost of this taxpayer funded bailout rose to $317 billion.

After playing a prominent role in the financial collapse of 2008, Fannie and Freddie continue to benefit from the public largesse. When the government acts as an insurer of last resort, it eventually falls to the taxpayer to foot the bill. The 2008 bailout cost taxpayers $317 billion and the continued operation of Fannie and Freddie is only compounding this cost by adding another $4 billion to that tally every year. Should the housing market decline below the CBO’s rather optimistic baseline, the true cost will continue to increase...

[92nina]

The pocket books of Americans are being turned inside out.

Take this article and others I found to the fight to the Libs on their own turf; put the Left on the defensive at at Digg and at Reddit and in Delicious and Stumbleupon

[SunkenCiv]

Bail-out, we’re gonna have a bailout!

Thanks 92nina.