Capitalism For The Poor, Socialism For The Rich - Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Government Intervention
What happened to the idea of the free market - letting the market decide what the market thinks is best for all players? Haven't we been hearing that the era of big government is long over - at least that's one of the tickets that the Republicans have been running on for some time - laissez-faire capitalism... socioeconomic Darwinism... etc, etc, etc.Of course, these are all rhetorical questions.
But, alas, here we are once again, with the government's take-over of two failing mortgage finance giants - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - ailing from a mortgage crisis which they helped create - which is what's fascinating about all this, if I can call it that. It's like when you're a child and you knowingly fuck up and get yourself into trouble; and despite their previous warnings to you, your parents, doing what most parents will do, come to your rescue, albeit grudgingly. The difference here is that, eventually you grow up... you become an adult, and your fuck-ups are yours and yours only for you to dig yourself out of, otherwise you deal with whatever the consequences are.
So, maybe the Fannie/Freddie dilemma isn't so easily explained, but I'm not that far off.
What I still don't understand is why the government lets public companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get so large in the first place - so large that when faced with financial difficulties, the rippling effect of their imminent failure could be disastrous for the economy, with people like you and I feeling the effects most. And then the government steps in to bail these companies out, whether taking them over, or approving billions of dollars in loan packages like they did with auto manufacturing behemoth Chrysler in the late 70s/early 80s, when it too was faced with bankruptcy.
If only they could act just as intently and swiftly in helping those average men, women and families in dire need of assistance, instead of preaching responsibility and accountability and all those other like phrases for that bottom half of Americans, while bailing out failing mega corporations that they shouldn't have allowed to get so large in the first place.
And, of course, when the federal government does ride in like an errant knight on his white horse to save the day for the Fannies and the Freddies, shelling out what will likely be billions of dollars to help pay for the damage, guess whose pockets the money will eventually come from? Yours and mine, in the form of the tax dollars we pay them every year to perform at their highest levels, with our best interests as a priority.
What I still don't understand is why the government lets public companies like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac get so large in the first place - so large that when faced with financial difficulties, the rippling effect of their imminent failure could be disastrous for the economy, with people like you and I feeling the effects most. And then the government steps in to bail these companies out, whether taking them over, or approving billions of dollars in loan packages like they did with auto manufacturing behemoth Chrysler in the late 70s/early 80s, when it too was faced with bankruptcy.
If only they could act just as intently and swiftly in helping those average men, women and families in dire need of assistance, instead of preaching responsibility and accountability and all those other like phrases for that bottom half of Americans, while bailing out failing mega corporations that they shouldn't have allowed to get so large in the first place.
And, of course, when the federal government does ride in like an errant knight on his white horse to save the day for the Fannies and the Freddies, shelling out what will likely be billions of dollars to help pay for the damage, guess whose pockets the money will eventually come from? Yours and mine, in the form of the tax dollars we pay them every year to perform at their highest levels, with our best interests as a priority.
I'm sure the recently ousted CEOs of both corporations won't go wanting, as they'll likely be leaving with healthy severance packages!
Over the weekend, The New York Times published an article titled, "Fannie, Freddie and You: What It Means to the Public." It's not all-encompassing, but it gives you some idea of just how major this situation really is, and what the government take-over could give birth to.
Here's the link to it: Fannie, Freddie and You: What It Means to the Public
Over the weekend, The New York Times published an article titled, "Fannie, Freddie and You: What It Means to the Public." It's not all-encompassing, but it gives you some idea of just how major this situation really is, and what the government take-over could give birth to.
Here's the link to it: Fannie, Freddie and You: What It Means to the Public
