Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Win Smith who wrote (6432)	12/28/2011 3:40:13 AM
From: Neeka	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

Ok, once more, what did Barney Frank actually do? Despite the fact Fannie and Freddie were basically bankrupt, Barney Frank stonewalled any attempt to reform Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and relentlessly defended them over the years. Frank also used his powerful position on the House of Representatives' Committee on Financial Services to force through legislation and policies which pressured the banks and other lenders to grant mortgage loans to those who did not meet traditional financial qualifications. I know liberals like to blame bankers and wall street for the housing bust, but Barney Frank will hold a special place in history as one of the most responsible players in the downfall of the American housing market. As for the fed holding toxic assets............I don't know the figures, but I think it's quite high. I also know the govt is paying to have millions of foreclosed homes renovated or otherwise brought up to standards that make them sellable on the open market. Because the previous owners had nothing to lose, they trashed or stole what they could before walking away from their homes. The money it will cost to rehabilitate those homes will be confiscated in the form of taxation and used to rehabilitate those homes. Among others, the American worker can thank Barney Frank for that.

To: Win Smith who wrote (6432)	12/28/2011 3:49:43 AM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 85487

If you'd seriously like to know more about Barney Frank and his legacy you can find plenty of information at the website below. "Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA): In a story that continued to mushroom throughout 2010, Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) improperly intervened for Maxine Waters (D-CA) on behalf of his home-state OneUnited Bank to obtain Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. When asked about the scandal, the Massachusetts Democrat admitted he spoke to a "federal regulator" but, according to The Wall Street Journal he didn't remember which federal regulator he spoke with." According to explosive Treasury Department emails uncovered by Judicial Watch in 2010, however, it appears this nameless bureaucrat was none other than then-Treasury Secretary Henry "Hank" Paulson! While Frank's "partner in crime" in the OneUnited scandal, Congressman Maxine Waters, is being investigated by the House Ethics Committee (see below), Frank's colleagues in the House have inexcusably ignored the Massachusetts Democrat's connection to the OneUnited grant. To this day, Barney Frank continues to defend his role in the meltdown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, saying he was just as blindsided as the rest of America when the two government sponsored enterprises collapsed, triggering the financial crisis. Frank has been peddling this fiction ever since the economy collapsed in September 2008. But, as The Boston Globe reported in a devastating article published on October 14, 2010, not many people are buying Frank's lies anymore. And Frank knows it. Here's an excerpt from the Globe: The issue…in 2003 was whether mortgage backers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were fiscally strong. Frank declared with his trademark confidence that they were, accusing critics and regulators of exaggerating threats to Fannie's and Freddie's financial integrity. And, the Massachusetts Democrat maintained, 'even if there were problems, the federal government doesn't bail them out.' Now, it's clear he was wrong on both points… Frank wasn't wrong. He was just lying through his teeth. Frank claims that he "missed" the warning signs with Fannie and Freddie because he was wearing "ideological blinders," which was just his lame attempt to blame Republicans. But he did not miss them. According to evidence uncovered by Judicial Watch, he just chose to ignore them. Judicial Watch obtained documents in 2010 proving that members of Congress, including — and perhaps especially — Barney Frank, were well aware that Fannie and Freddie were in deep trouble due to corruption and incompetence and yet they did nothing to stop it. Moreover, as the Globe notes, in July 2008, then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says he called Frank and told him the government would need to spend "billions of taxpayer dollars to backstop the institutions from catastrophic failure." Frank, despite that conversation, appeared on national television two days later and said the companies were "fundamentally sound, not in danger of going under." Less than two months later, the government seized Fannie and Freddie and the bailout began." judicialwatch.org