Comments on: Financial crises are more fun when they involve companies with goofy names like Fannie and Freddie http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/07/11/financial_crises_are_more_fun/ Commentary on the economy, the markets, and business Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:56:37 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: Independent http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/07/11/financial_crises_are_more_fun/comment-page-1/#comment-10044 Independent Sun, 13 Jul 2008 17:12:34 +0000 http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/07/11/financial_crises_are_more_fun/#comment-10044 "Ely also thinks that Fannie's and Freddie's charmed existence as private enterprises with tacit government backing can't continue. "What all this bailout talk does is blow away the notion that there's an 'implicit' guarantee. There is a guarantee, or there isn't." It seems to me that, apart from the previous accounting scandals and the outsized CEO compensation packages that you mentioned, Fannie and Freddie basically did what they are supposed to do. Their current plight is the result of the crisis in the overall home mortgage market, rather than their own transgressions. Without Fannie and Freddie the crisis would have been much worse. "Ely also thinks that Fannie's and Freddie's charmed existence as private enterprises with tacit government backing can't continue. "What all this bailout talk does is blow away the notion that there's an 'implicit' guarantee. There is a guarantee, or there isn't."

It seems to me that, apart from the previous accounting scandals and the outsized CEO compensation packages that you mentioned, Fannie and Freddie basically did what they are supposed to do. Their current plight is the result of the crisis in the overall home mortgage market, rather than their own transgressions. Without Fannie and Freddie the crisis would have been much worse.

]]> By: Florida http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/07/11/financial_crises_are_more_fun/comment-page-1/#comment-10043 Florida Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:02:48 +0000 http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/07/11/financial_crises_are_more_fun/#comment-10043 Just a quick read through of it, Justin, and it looks like you sum things up pretty well. You should go into more detail about the decision to allow Fannie and Freddy to start wading into the jumbo market. Hank Paulson lobbied for that, didn't he? I remember seeing red lights going off mentally at the time. Just a quick read through of it, Justin, and it looks like you sum things up pretty well. You should go into more detail about the decision to allow Fannie and Freddy to start wading into the jumbo market. Hank Paulson lobbied for that, didn't he? I remember seeing red lights going off mentally at the time.

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