Alex J. Pollock writes The Housing Bubble and the Limits of Human Knowledge in The American, 3/1/13:
Excerpt:
What financial shape were Fannie and Freddie in as the crisis proceeded? How bad would the effects of the shriveling bubble be? How much can you trust the word of government officials? How much about the financial future can central bankers or anybody know? Consider the lessons of the following 10 quotations:
1. About whether Fannie and Freddie’s debt was backed by the government: “There is no guarantee. There’s no explicit guarantee. There’s no implicit guarantee. There’s no wink-and-nod guarantee. Invest and you’re on your own.” — Barney Frank, senior Democratic congressman, notable Fannie supporter, later chairman of the House Financial Services Committee
It would be difficult to imagine a statement more wrong.
2. “We do not believe there is any government guarantee, and we go out of our way to say there is not a government guarantee.” — John Snow, Republican and secretary of the Treasury
Saying it did not make it so, unfortunately.
3. “The facts are that Fannie and Freddie are in sound situations.” — Christopher Dodd, senior Democratic senator, prominent Fannie supporter, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee
– See more at: http://www.american.com/archive/2013/february/the-housing-bubble-and-the-limits-of-human-knowledge#sthash.giW4k2Lq.dpuf
HKO
The article lists more examples of government officials and noted economists who got it monstrously wrong. IN any other sector such poor understanding would make them mere historical footnotes. Massive failures of regulatory power seems to be grounds for giving them even more power. With a compliant media they have deflected blame from their failures to the private sector