This was the rumor last week. It sounds laughable. I don?t want to believe it. The Treasury Department denied it.
But when it comes to the Magic Kingdom that is the Obama administration, the fantastical has a way of coming true.
?From Washington to Wall Street,? Reuters columnist James Pethokoukis wrote on Thursday, ?there are rumors that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth.?
That?s right. If you bet badly in the housing-market casino of the Aughties, the government is thinking of refunding some of your chips so you can play again. You may have heard something about a sub-prime real-estate bubble that popped and nearly took down the financial system with it? President Obama wants to double down.
Unlike most rumors, this one became more, not less, plausible when you examine the details. The White House has made it clear in recent months that it is frustrated by what the Framers called ?the legislative branch,? what President Obama calls ?politics? and what I call ?the wishes of the American people.?
Obama craves a short-term sugar rush for the economy. If he feels cornered, betrayed and alone, he could use his new ownership of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a free federal candy store and tell America to line up and pig out.
Rewarding subprime borrowers would be characteristic. In more ways than one, Barack Obama seems to want to be known as the Sub-Prime President.
Full article: The end of responsibility - NYPOST.com
But when it comes to the Magic Kingdom that is the Obama administration, the fantastical has a way of coming true.
?From Washington to Wall Street,? Reuters columnist James Pethokoukis wrote on Thursday, ?there are rumors that the Obama administration is about to order government-controlled lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive a portion of the mortgage debt of millions of Americans who owe more than what their homes are worth.?
That?s right. If you bet badly in the housing-market casino of the Aughties, the government is thinking of refunding some of your chips so you can play again. You may have heard something about a sub-prime real-estate bubble that popped and nearly took down the financial system with it? President Obama wants to double down.
Unlike most rumors, this one became more, not less, plausible when you examine the details. The White House has made it clear in recent months that it is frustrated by what the Framers called ?the legislative branch,? what President Obama calls ?politics? and what I call ?the wishes of the American people.?
Obama craves a short-term sugar rush for the economy. If he feels cornered, betrayed and alone, he could use his new ownership of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a free federal candy store and tell America to line up and pig out.
Rewarding subprime borrowers would be characteristic. In more ways than one, Barack Obama seems to want to be known as the Sub-Prime President.
Full article: The end of responsibility - NYPOST.com