Here’s a recent interview with Neil Cavuto about bailouts for Fannie Mae, one of the government-created entities used by Barney Frank, et al, to subsidize housing (and line the pockets of well-connected political insiders).
My main concern is not the bailouts, which surely are odious, but whether we can at least limit future damage by getting the government out of the business of misallocating capital and distorting markets.
When in a hole, put down the %*#(& shovel and stop digging!
[…] we got bailouts (Bush’s awful TARP scheme), which was bad enough, but every subsequent president has tried to […]
[…] The bottom line is that Fannie and Freddie are cronyist institutions that hurt the economy and create financial instability, while providing no benefit except to a handful of insiders. […]
[…] everything possible to shut down these corrupt GSEs. I’ve argued for this position over and over and over […]
[…] Instead, the main causes of the 2008 meltdown were bad government policies, such as easy-money from the Fed and corrupt housing subsidies from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. […]
[…] His point about risks to taxpayers is right on the mark. In effect, the IMF is like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For years, defenders of intervention in the housing market argued those government-created entities didn’t cost a penny. Then they suddenly cost a lot. […]
[…] we learn from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle that bad things happen when the federal government tries to subsidize that […]
[…] the Fed’s easy-money policy with more government. And you don’t solve the problems caused by corrupt Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac subsidies with more […]
[…] by the Fed’s easy-money policy with more government. And you don’t solve the problems caused by corrupt Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac subsidies with more […]
[…] easy-money policy with more government. And you don’t solve the problems caused by corrupt Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac subsidies with more […]
[…] we learn from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle that bad things happen when the federal government tries to subsidize that […]
[…] was in charge of imposing so-called affordable lending requirements that helped start the bad Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac policies that eventually led to the housing bubble and financial […]
[…] we learn from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle that bad things happen when the federal government tries to subsidize that […]
[…] we learn from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle that bad things happen when the federal government tries to subsidize that […]
[…] Government shouldn’t be trying to lure us into making economically irrational decisions because of tax or regulatory interventions. Didn’t we learn anything from the Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac fiasco? […]
[…] the government interfere with this process. First, bad policies such as easy money from the Fed and corrupt Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac subsidies distorted market signals and caused a needlessly high level of mistakes. Second, bailouts […]
[…] guess this is the European version of the bastard child of Fannie Mae and the Export-Import Bank. But if anybody thinks government-subsidized cronyism is a route to […]
[…] regardless of the party. That’s why the TARP bailout was reprehensible. It’s why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subsidies are disgusting. And it’s why industrial policy in the tax code is […]
[…] I’ve explained on many occasions how the financial crisis was largely the result of government-imposed mistakes, and I’ve paid considerable attention to the role of easy money by the Federal Reserve and the perverse subsidies provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. […]
[…] Consider the fools in the U.S. Senate. They just voted to expand Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac subsidies, apparently thinking that re-inflating the housing bubble would be a good idea when every sensible person thinks we should abolish these government-created entities. […]
[…] video largely focuses on American policy issues such as Fannie, Freddie, and TARP, but the principles apply to all bailouts. LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); […]
This goes back to the principle that more and bigger lies are told, covering up previous lies. The Federal Reserve has been lying for 98 years. That’s a big pile of manure that somebody is going to have to clean up.
[…] « Patriotism, Politics, and the 4th of July Perpetual Bailouts for the Fiscal Black Holes of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? […]