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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RetiredNow who wrote (5918)	3/10/2009 8:13:56 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 86352

Brumar, you ignore the fact that the rich and powerful have always controlled the levers of government to enrich themselves further. Like Karl Marx said, I guess. Actually the rich have often been the victim of governments seizing their wealth. Its been that way since the dawn of civilization and that's why poverty has traditionally been the lot of mankind. Its only the recognition and legal protection of property rights that has allowed prosperous societies to develop. The popular myth people have is there's just so much wealth in the world and the rich monopolize it as the expense of the rest of us. Its an appeal to envy and resentment and it impoverishes all of us. You probably would deny believing this but thats the underlying assumption of your posts on the "class war" of the rich - that there is a certain amount of wealth and the "rich" have too much of the pie at our expense. Its just wrong. The rich were able to distort our regulations such that an economic collapse is now upon us. The free market was not allowed to work. The root of the present crisis was in the mortgage market and that was anything but a free market. In fact, the government actively intervened with unwise regulations. What were FNMA/FHLMC/HUD? Andrew CUOMO and Fannie and Freddie How the youngest Housing and Urban Development secretary in history gave birth to the mortgage crisis By Wayne Barrett published: August 05, 2008 .... villagevoice.com directorblue.blogspot.com Bill Clinton on Thursday told ABC’s Chris CUOMO that Democrats for years have been “resisting any efforts by Republicans in the Congress or by me when I was President to put some standards and tighten up a little on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac” patriotroom.com Fannie Mae Moves to Loosen Home Loan Credit Rules By Daryl Strickland October 01, 1999 in print edition C-1 The nation’s largest provider of mortgage funds, moving to increase homeownership among minorities and low-income citizens, unveiled a program Thursday to loosen lending standards for people with “slightly impaired” credit. The Federal National Mortgage Assn. said it will encourage banks and other financial institutions to accept borrowers with blemished credit who may not otherwise qualify for conventional loans. .... articles.latimes.com FANNIE MAE Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending By STEVEN A. HOLMES Published: September 30, 1999 In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the FANNIE MAE Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. .... FANNIE MAE, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, has been under increasing pressure from the Clinton Administration to expand mortgage loans among low and moderate income people and felt pressure from stock holders to maintain its phenomenal growth in profits. .... In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, FANNIE MAE is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic TIMES. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's. 'From the perspective of many people, including me, this is another thrift industry growing up around us,' said Peter Wallison a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. 'If they fail, the government will have to step up and bail them out the way it stepped up and bailed out the thrift industry.' ... FANNIE MAE, the nation's biggest underwriter of home mortgages, does not lend money directly to consumers. Instead, it purchases loans that banks make on what is called the secondary market. By expanding the type of loans that it will buy, FANNIE MAE is hoping to spur banks to make more loans to people with less-than-stellar credit ratings. ..... In July, the Department of Housing and Urban Development proposed that by the year 2001, 50 percent of FANNIE Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolio be made up of loans to low and moderate-income borrowers. Last year, 44 percent of the loans FANNIE MAE purchased were from these groups. .... TIMES.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0de7db153ef933a0575ac0a96f958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all' target='_blank'>http://query.nyTIMES.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9c0de7db153ef933a0575ac0a96f958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all