Update: A week after Freddie announces their loss of $8 billion sister Fannie Mae comes out with a 1st quarter loss of more than $13 billion! These two companies that Barney Frank swore were financially sound have burned through another $21 billion of your money in just 3 months folks!
Its operations having lost another $8 billion in the first quarter of 2010, Freddie Mac is back at the TARP trough for more of our tax dollars. This time the tab will be $10.6 billion, but they’re bound to lose money in Q2 and for the foreseeable future, so expect them to come begging for even more very soon.
Overall this will put the federal government’s total bailout of Freddie Mac at $60 billion. Tack on another $76 billion to date for Fannie Mae’s bailout, and that’s $136 billion and counting to rescue these two organizations. Barney Frank (D-MA) must be absolutely stunned because here he is in 2003, when the Bush Administration was asking for stronger regulations, saying Fannie and Freddie would never fail, and if they did, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD NEVER BAIL THEM OUT!
In a move that defies all rational thought, Representative Barney Frank, D – MA, has written a letter to the heads of the recently bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac asking them to (get this) lower lending standards.I’m sure you are asking as I am, “Isn’t this how we got into this mess in the first place? Aren’t we still in the process of bailing out Fannie and Freddie?” A bailout, by the way, that is slated to cost the American taxpayer as much as $400 billion! Here is a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed regarding Mr. Frank’s latest act of brilliance relative to mortgage lending.
I thought since Mr. Frank clearly can’t remember the details that have led us to the precipice of financial ruin it might be worthwhile to do a quick recap and refresh his memory. Let’s go all the way back to 2003, when George Bush’s White House was sounding the alarm that there were huge potential problems at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. What did Mr. Frank have to say? You won’t believe it!
“Not in a crisis” – Really Barney? “Even if something did go wrong the Federal Government wouldn’t bail them out” – Really Barney? Ladies and Gentlemen, I present your Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. Did you notice the matter-of-factness with which he said a bailout would never happen; as if the witness who suggested it might was crazy? Not so crazy now, huh, Barney?
Fastforwarding to 2005, Barney Frank tells us that there is no housing bubble, nothing to worry about and Fannie and Freddie should just keep making loans to people who can’t afford them (is there any chance this is because those people vote almost exclusively Democratic?).
In 2004, the Republilcans in Congress had had enough. They wanted to shut down the runaway lending at these two government subsidized companies. Watch as the Democrats rail against the Republican plan. Remember, this is 2004, people! What would have happened if Democrats hadn’t stopped the efforts to get a handle on the runaway mortgage environment? Would we be in this finanical mess today? Doubtful. Keep in mind, what brought down the banks, was their real estate investments, not their banking business.
My favorite is the bufoon Maxine Waters saying, “We were trying to fix something that wasn’t broke”. Maxine, the word you’re looking for is broken. Learn English if you are going to be a U.S. Congresswoman. She goes on to say, “Under the outstanding leadershipof Mr. Raines”. Oh, I wish she was kidding, but no, she’s actually serious. Then we have the classy Mr. Meeks saying he’s “pissed off”. He’s “pissed off”? That’s the language he feels is appropriate during a televised committee hearing in the United States Congress? Then Mr. Frank pipes in to say he “doesn’t see anything in the report that raises safety and soundness problems”. Good call Barney!
But, why would Democrats turn a blind eye to the risks? And why would Barney be willing to go right back down that road again? Money. Are you surprised? A little bit of money bought Barrack Obama, Christopher Dodd, Barney Frank and many many others. Frankly these politicians were cheap dates. A couple hundred thousand dollars and they turned a blind eye while their Democratic friends like Frank Raines made millions running Fannie and Freddie into the ground. A couple hundred grand and these politicians were willing to watch millions of Americans lose their homes and the rest lose significant equity. For that little bit of money these political whores were willing to put America’s sovereignty and her security at risk. Now Mr. Frank wants to go back to relaxed lending standards. I wonder who paid him off this time? I wonder what it will cost the American taxpayer this time?
Have Some Sense 