Posted on 07/18/2008 8:32:25 AM PDT by rabscuttle385
As financial storm signals appeared the past 18 months, some Bush officials urged drastic reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, according to internal government sources, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objected because it would look "too political." The Republican administration kept its hands off the government-backed mortgage companies that are closely connected to the Democratic establishment.
Paulson is a Republican, but as head of the Goldman Sachs investment bank he had close ties with Democratic-dominated Fannie Mae.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
"This is our bailout," a senior Goldman Sachs official told a Wall Street colleague this week, suggesting that the firm will be cherry-picking for mortgage bargains.
The only senior executive branch officials who expressed alarm about overextended Fannie and Freddie were former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, and their warnings were shrugged off.
The powerhouse Democratic overseers of the banking committees -- Rep. Barney Frank, Sen. Christopher Dodd and Sen. Chuck Schumer -- protected Fannie and Freddie.
IMO: the Democrat bankers get the windfall, the American taxpayers get the losses, and Bush's administration gets tagged with the blame. Or, at least, that's how it's been scripted.
A bet a few days back on FNM options would have made one a very rich person.
Especially with the huge spending programs that Obama wants (universal healthcare), it’s only a matter of time before the U.S. is foreclosed on.
I’m pretty sure we’re seeing happen now, no one wants to admit it.
I hope everyone remembers the congressional outrage over Enron.
Enron was peanuts compared to the Fannie/Freddie debacle, which will cost taxpayers billions.
The difference is that almost the whole of congress was on the take from Fan/Fred. There will be no serious hearings, no one held responsible.
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