A Moral Culprit

There are those who see our financial problem as a moral failure. In one sense it is, but not in the sense those who wish to frame it in moral tones believe. To blame greed for the meltdown is simplistic

The Myth of Laissez Faire

Dec. 29, 2009

The quasi-governmental institutions Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guaranteed mortgages, which Wall Street happily securitized once the credit rating agencies- which had been given a legally protected oligopoly by the government-declared them to be safe investments. Government owned banks and

Unlimited Fannie Mae

Dec. 27, 2009

In several past postings reviewing the recent financial meltdown, I have noted the pivotal role played by Fannie Mae. A toxic mix of arrogance and incompetence infected Wall Street. Bad political, monetary, and tax policy inflated the housing market bubble.

More Government = More Lobbyists

Nov. 30, 2009

Are lobbyists that bad? If the government was about to make sheet-rock illegal because of bad or misguided information and you were in the sheet-rock or home-building business, wouldn’t you seek to persuade the lawmakers than their efforts were wrong?

Abusing a Crisis

Oct. 20, 2009

“It is a matter of record that many of the leading decision makers of the New Deal administration in the 1930s were advocates of government intervention in the economy and of a fundamental restructuring of the economy-a New Deal- years

Delayed is not Denied

Oct. 17, 2009

Congressional supporters of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac accepted extraordinary moretgage risks in order to facilitate the American dream of home ownership. Did they succeed? With the drop in home values many American home owners saw their home equity drop

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