Hanging Over Our Heads
No one in DC wants to talk about it, least of all our Golfer-In-Chief, mainly because it makes his spending plans look even more recklessly insane, but here’s a huge reason why we need to get the budget under control
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took over a foreclosed home roughly every 90 seconds during the first three months of the year. They owned 163,828 houses at the end of March, a virtual city with more houses than Seattle. The mortgage finance companies, created by Congress to help Americans buy homes, have become two of the nation’s largest landlords.
…For all the focus on the historic federal rescue of the banking industry, it is the government’s decision to seize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in September 2008 that is likely to cost taxpayers the most money. So far the tab stands at $145.9 billion, and it grows with every foreclosure of a three-bedroom home with a two-car garage one hour from Phoenix. The Congressional Budget Office has predicted that the final bill could reach $389 billion.
My guess is $400-plus. This is going to be around our necks for a long, long time.
Thanks, Barney Frank.
Biz, Nanny State, Politics | Mr. Bingley | 
June 21, 2010 6:56 am
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Even in NY, they’re starting to understand the “don’t spend what you don’t have” theory. A candidate for Governor said the following:
“Government in New York is too big, ineffective and expensive,” the candidate’s website proclaims. “We must get our state’s fiscal house in order by immediately imposing a cap on state spending and freezing salaries of state public employees as part of a one-year emergency financial plan, committing to no increase in personal or corporate income taxes of sales taxes and imposing a local property tax cap.”
Who said it? Surprise. The Dem candidate, Andrew Cuomo. I think he’s learning something from Chris Christie in NJ.
Being familiar with Casa Grande in particular and Arizona in general, I can vouch for the fact that things are getting royally messed up. So much so, that the housing market/mortgage business in Arizona will probably never recover in my lifetime. People are locking keys in homes and literally walking away only because they are underwater with the mortgage and don’t like the level of payments that they have committed to. Then, they somehow get financing to purchase another larger home at lower payments. In one case I know of, a family actually repurchased their previous foreclosed home using another family member to be the “front person” on the mortgage. I feel for people who have overcommitted themselves to what they thought was their major investment for the future. But, on the other hand, I’m starting to feel like those of us who play by the rules are the ones who will be punished in the long run. I echo your sentiments, Mr. B in thanking that nitwit Barney Frank (and let’s add Chris Dodd and a few other list, shall we?).