Truth in journalism is blaming Frank and Dodd for the housing crisis? Neither one had their committee chairs until 2007. This crisis is a decade in the making. Freddie, Fannie, the banks, the insurance companies, the brokerage houses, etc. have been spreading the money around to both sides of the aisle to whoever had a hand out. Most of them are corrupt mf’ers but pointing to 2 democrats who have had a bit power in the matter for less than two years is hardly the truth. Are they part of the problem? For sure but when people vote for candidates based on negative campaigning and gut issues instead of the real issues, little is going to change.
-Brian
Brian, have some more Kool-Aid.
No finance house would have ever been able to sell the toxic investments if the ratings agencies had not given those toxic investments high ratings.
The ratings agencies knowingly lied and lied because they had accepted bribes to lie.
The mess will never be cleaned up until those members of the agencies who lied are sent to jail and much more stringent operating conditions of the ratings agencies are introduced and enforced.
You got it, Tony. And those ratings agencies are Freddie and Fannie.
Steve Featherkile said:Geez Steve! Don't pour gasoline on a fire and then hand me a glass of water to put it out.
Brian, have some more Kool-Aid.
-Brian 
Brian Donovan said:Steve Featherkile said:Geez Steve! Don't pour gasoline on a fire and then hand me a glass of water to put it out.
Brian, have some more Kool-Aid.-Brian
I thought you were good at that sort of thing, Brian…
Steve Featherkile said:No they aren't! You can't just make stuff up because you want it to be true.
You got it, Tony. And those ratings agencies are Freddie and Fannie.
Fannie and Freddie are not bond rating agencies
Here is an article about bond rating agencies
http://beginnersinvest.about.com/od/ratingagencies/Bond_Rating_Agencies.htm
Much of the problem stems from the failure of these agencies to act responsibly. But there’s a lot of blame to go around, unless, apparently, you’re a republican, in which case it’s always someone else’s fault
Which party, for the last 20 years, has been saying "deregulate, deregulate!? Which party is the free market party? Which party wanted to “privatize social security?”
Oh wait, it must have been Clinton–yeah that’s it, while Bush was distracted by battling the guys who were not responsible for 9/11, Clinton snuck into the White house an caused the financial crisis
Steve Featherkile said:No, Those ratings agencies are Moody's, Standard & Poor's , and a few others. Ralph
You got it, Tony. And those ratings agencies are Freddie and Fannie.
Fannie and Freddie are the agencies who pushed the loans, said they were good, bought them from the banks, bundled them with other, better morguages, and sold them to unsuspecting investors. Gee, mikie, sorry if I got the term wrong. I guess you will have to fail me.
BTW, speaking of failure, I’ve been waiting for your discussion of Taffey 3 all semester. Having trouble?
Steve Featherkile said:
Fannie and Freddie are the agencies who pushed the loans, said they were good, bought them from the banks, bundled them with other, better morguages, and sold them to unsuspecting investors. Gee, mikie, sorry if I got the term wrong. I guess you will have to fail me.BTW, speaking of failure, I’ve been waiting for your discussion of Taffey 3 all semester. Having trouble?
It is a lot more than mortgages wrapped up in these "bundles. Everything from junk bonds to all kinds of other “poisonous paper”.
Freddie and Fannie guarantee the loans. They don’t make the loans. It is the banks and financial houses that bought, sold and bundled the “paper”.
Ralph
mike omalley said:And the Democrats ARE? All those guys who took money from Fannie and Freddy's lobbyists (Including Mr Wonderful)? Those who actively opposed tightening regulations because it would "hurt minorities"? They're ALL lining up to say "we screwed up" are they? They're pledging to refund every penny they accepted to the taxpayers to help pay for the bailout? I guess I missed it...what day was it in the papers?
But there's a lot of blame to go around, unless, apparently, you're a republican, in which case it's always someone else's fault
And our Mike knows all and sees all, and is the unrelenting champion of “the truth”-- as long as he agrees with it…Gotta love it.
I’m off to bed, I have to be up early to go make some more money for Uncle Sam to tax to pay for some shtuff I agree with and a lot I don’t.
Here’s the list, full of D an R’s - http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2008/09/update-fannie-mae-and-freddie.html
-Brian
I’d absoutely agree that Fannie and Freddie held managed t aquire a great deal of political clout. No question about it. Are they responsible? No
Here is a counter argument–in which Alan Greenspan, SEC chairman Christopher Cox, and former Treasury secretary John Snow all agree that Fannie and Freddie didn NOT cause the housing crisis or the current financial meltdown. A quote:
"The subprime boom was led by investment banks and mortgage brokers, not by government-sponsored enterprises. Fannie and Freddie became unhinged in the middle of this decade when they tried to play catch-up. Their shareholders and managers pushed them to recover the securitization market share they had lost to unregulated investment banks getting absurd AAA ratings for packaging subprime dross. From 2005 to 2008, Fannie Mae purchased or guaranteed $270 billion in loans to risky borrowers — triple the amount in all its earlier years combined.
As Center for Economic and Policy Research co-director Dean Baker has written, “Fannie and Freddie got into subprime junk and helped fuel the housing bubble, but they were trailing the irrational exuberance of the private sector. They lost market share in the years 2002-2007, as the volume of private issue mortgage backed securities exploded.”"
Here is the link:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/10/23/mica-waxman/
Fannie and Freddie got caught up in a phenomenon that was already well in place–they jumped on board. And yes, they were irresponsible when they did. But the problem predated Fannie and Freddies’ involvement.
Ah, but Mikey, take look at the list again… Doesn’t it seem the least bit ODD to you that Mr Wonderful made it almost to the TOP dollar-wise in the VERY short time he was in the Senate? Maybe, just maybe it means that the “change” he’s really after is all that his pockets will hold? (BTW the money he accepted would have mostly paid for the clothes you’re roasting Palin over or at least bought a really really nice car… Do TRY to be consistent, not just blindly partisan. ) What I’m hearing from some of you sounds an AWFUL lot like the sheep in Animal Farm (“Four legs GOOD, Two legs BAAAAAAD”)
Once again we seem to have the very best government that money can buy. Huey Long would be proud.
Mikey, I’m gonna call you AND Ms Terkel on a classic bit of obfuscation…McCain said “the CATALYST for this housing crisis.” (emphasis mine)… Ms Terkel Mr Waxman, and you said “CAUSE” ( as in Mr Waxman’s question “Do any of you believe that they were the CAUSE of this financial crisis?” - again emphasis mine)
Words have meanings that don’t change just because YOU want them to…
Catalyst- (noun) 1. Chemistry A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.
2. One that precipitates a process or event, especially without being involved in or changed by the consequences
Cause- (noun)1.
1. The producer of an effect, result, or consequence.
2. The one, such as a person, event, or condition, that is responsible for an action or result.
2. A basis for an action or response; a reason:…
I submit McCain was NOT lying. and neither were those who answered Mr Waxman’s questions. Fannie and Freddie weren’t the “cause”, but the WERE a catalyst, their actions made things worse and brought it about faster.
All else is a political hack job.
??? Where did I accuse McCain of lying?
Where did I use the word “caused?” You should be talking to Waxman, not me. My point, again, is that Fannie and Freddie joined in a process that the private sector had started. Because they were late to the party, they can not be held soley responsible. Read what I wrote–that’s what I said.
Also I want to point out that the link I posted says explicitly that Obama was number two in money received from Fannie and Freddie–it’s right there in what I posted. And as I also said, Fannie and Freddie share in the blame. I didn’t say they bore no responsibility, or they were perfect or any such thing. read what I actually wrote
mike omalley said:What goes around comes around Mikey...how do YOU like it? :D
read what I actually wrote
I’m just confused–I have no idea what you’re talking about
I don’t think too many others do either. 