The mortgage meltdown was caused partly by the government, which created an artificial market for bad mortgages. The Washington Examiner cites a recent study by Peter Wallison, who had prophetically warned about risky financial practices for years, finding that two-thirds of all bad mortgages were either “bought by government agencies or required to be bought by private companies under government pressure.” Now, the Federal Housing Administration is ramping up its purchases of low-quality mortgage loans, threatening taxpayers with hundreds of billions of dollars in losses, and creating the risk of another housing bubble in the future.
As Michael Barone notes, Congress is now seeking to pass costly legislation that could reinflate the housing bubble, threatening future financial meltdowns.
The Obama administration is also busy promoting the junky, risky mortgages that fueled the housing bubble, showing that it has learned nothing from history.
Obama has sent to Congress his proposal to create a politically-correct entity called the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. “The agency would be in charge of enforcing the Community Reinvestment Act, a law that prods banks to make loans in low-income communities.”
Government pressure on banks to make low-income loans was a key reason for the mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis. Yet Obama’s disturbing proposal would empower the new agency to enforce the Community Reinvestment Act without regard for banks’ financial safety and soundness. The Community Reinvestment Act was a key contributor to the financial crisis.
The mortgage crisis was also caused by the reckless government-sponsored mortgage giants (”GSEs”) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and by federal affordable-housing mandates.
But Obama’s proposed financial rules overhaul does absolutely nothing about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, admits Obama’s Treasury Secretary, tax cheat Timothy Geithner, even though he admits that “Fannie and Freddie were a core part of what went wrong in our system.”
Worse, Obama’s plan is “largely the product of extensive conversations” with two lawmakers responsible for the corrupt status quo, Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, and it expands the reach of regulations that have been used by left-wing groups to extort pay-offs from banks.
Comments
"..Government pressure on banks to make low-income loans was a key reason for the mortgage meltdown and the financial crisis..."
quit lying...those loans were few...the banks bundled those together with others and sold them off...the banks saw a good thing (for them) and started aggressively seeking any and all loans (bad and good), then bundling them up and selling them off to other suckers...without having to carry or even care if these loans defaulted, there was only THE SALE driving the banks on these bad loans...if you forced banks to carry each and every loan they make for the life of that loan, this meltdown would never have happened...when you make all your money up front on a loan, then sell it off, you are not vested in the default rate...the banks played a pyramid scheme with the loans (FAR more than they were "forced" to take on, and even those were sold off to other suckers)
The whole securitization craze for selling off crappy loans could not have happened without both government pressure and political correctness, and private greed.
Both the government and the banks were deeply complicit in it. The government is still getting bigger. Bankers are still getting big bonuses. And the taxpayers are still getting the shaft.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!