Finally Fannie
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will surely be at the top of the news during the next few weeks as the Obama administration prepares for the conference on the US housing finance system. (www.marketwatch.com/story/legislative-battle-on-horizon-for-future-of-fannie) At issue is the future of these two semi-private institutions that have been (effectively) taken over by the federal government. Even if politics could somehow be taken out of the debate on the future of these two monoliths of debt, it will be difficult to come to a consensus as to what the most prudent approach should be. Throw in the normal contentious political rhetoric and posturing, and it should prove to be damn near impossible. Politics aside, the current mortgage system, (with all the baggage it accumulated over the past few years with derivatives etc.) is about as complex a question as a government can wrangle with. I don’t know how one can expect a congressman or senator to argue the complexities of an issue that the experts have proven to have little handle on . Oh, did I mention I was not optimistic about the results?
By Myron Gushlak