How did the government get so deeply involved in the housing market? (Congress, salary)

[Delta Planter]

The answer is: President Clinton wanted it that way.

A nice little history lesson here. Old slick, he's sumthin else, ain't he?

While President Carter in 1977 signed the Community Reinvestment Act, which pushed Fannie and Freddie to aggressively lend to minority communities, it was Clinton who supercharged the process. After entering office in 1993, he extensively rewrote Fannie's and Freddie's rules.

In so doing, he turned the two quasi-private, mortgage-funding firms into a semi-nationalized monopoly that dispensed cash to markets, made loans to large Democratic voting blocs and handed favors, jobs and money to political allies. This potent mix led inevitably to corruption and the Fannie-Freddie collapse.

Despite warnings of trouble at Fannie and Freddie, in 1994 Clinton unveiled his National Homeownership Strategy, which broadened the CRA in ways Congress never intended.

Amazing, if not amusing. Where is the mousetrap?

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- How A Clinton-Era Rule Rewrite Made Subprime Crisis Inevitable

[JackRabbitSlim]

Not everyone was meant to be a home owner. And when you get a sub-prime loan, or interest only loan, and put no money down, some people didn't have jobs that could afford a mortage payment. There is nothing wrong with being a renter. The politicians tried to push the American Dream on people that could never and should never afford it. Now we are paying the price. Neal Boortz says that only 5% of the mortages in the country are in trouble. Where did the 700B$ price tag come from?

[Delta Planter]

Originally Posted by JackRabbitSlim

Not everyone was meant to be a home owner. And when you get a sub-prime loan, or interest only loan, and put no money down, some people didn't have jobs that could afford a mortage payment. There is nothing wrong with being a renter. The politicians tried to push the American Dream on people that could never and should never afford it. Now we are paying the price. Neal Boortz says that only 5% of the mortages in the country are in trouble. Where did the 700B$ price tag come from?

I rent now, I've owned a home in NOLA, a really nice mobile home, and 35 acres in CO and paid off the mobile and land on a meager military salary, but at my age, hell, I'm too old to buy. Good question on the $700B, I don't know, and I wouldn't doubt the whole frigging thing is way blown out of proportion.