Gee, who knew. CNS News reports that a congressional report places the blame for the financial crisis squarely on the shoulders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the politicians who made it possible. Will this news make the Main Stream Media? If the media bothered to report the truth last year perhaps Americans wouldn’t have given complete control of our nation to those responsible for the mess we’re in. While Republicans are partially to blame for promoting homeownership for everyone, it’s the democrats who set it all in motion and then blocked any regulation of the GSE’s.
H/T Angry White Man
The claims in the report have long been advanced by conservatives, who argue that the Community Reinvestment Act and other federal programs fed the housing bubble that burst in 2007 and led to the economic downfall in 2008.
But the report explains in detail how Fannie and Freddie — government sponsored enterprises (GSE) that were not subject to the same oversight as other publicly traded firms — “privatized their profits but socialized their risks.” [...]
The report comes after Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) – who fought against regulation of the two quasi-public mortgage giants — and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) wrote a letter in June to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac calling on the GSEs to lower lending standards on condo buyers. [...]
The report also talks about how the two GSEs became a powerful lobby. Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson opened up “partnership offices” in congressional districts, hired relatives of members of Congress, and GSE employees contributed $15 million to federal campaigns from 1998 to 2008. Throughout that time, all attempted reforms in Congress were blocked.
Also, in 1995, “Johnson seeded the Fannie Mae Foundation with $350 million of Fannie stock. The company used this foundation to spread millions of dollars around to politically connected organizations like the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute,” states the report.
Fannie and Freddie were not subject to regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, while executives were paid well. Former Fannie CEO Franklin Raines earned more than $50 million in compensation during his six-years at the helm, the report says. Fannie and Freddie paid billions more to shareholders. “Thus, the government subsidizations of GSE operations amounted to little more than corporate welfare,” the report says.
The report cites Frank’s accusations that to blame Fannie and Freddie is to blame only the lender and not the borrower.
YAAAAAY! When do we get to put Barney Frank on trial and then burn him at the stake???
Pffffffffft. I knew this shortly before the banks all imploded. I just hate living in the alternate universe, on the wrong side of the tear in the space-time continuum, don’t YOU?
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No Daneen, We’re on the RIGHT side of the tear, and although it is frustrating to watch the train wreck, it is good to be able to see enough to get out of the way of flying debris.
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This guy should be tried for treason. When we take this country back all of the propagandist of the democratic party should face their own Nuremberg trial.The are feeding the American people lies and they are well aware of that fact.To put the country in to the condition they have based on lies should condemn them to a life sentence or the gallows.
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Bawny Fwank is good for my diet. Everytime I see his picture I lose my appetite.
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Picture him in a Speedo if you need a crash diet. Blech.
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Or a thong. Oh dear…
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