Freddie Mac
Fannie and Freddie Are Stronger Than Ever
The reviled companies are the only players in the secondary mortgage market
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed guarantors of residential mortgages, hold a particularly reviled place in our political culture. They stand accused of taking a $187.5 billion government bailout (correct) and inciting the housing bubble and financial crisis (largely incorrect). READ MORE >>
The Ongoing and Hugely Risky Bailout of the Housing Market
Why the next housing crisis could be worse than the last one
After a long and wrenching plunge, the housing sector has finally bottomed out and seems to be recovering. According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller index, home prices rose in nearly every metropolitan area during 2012 and turned in a solid gain of 7 percent nationally. Celebration would be premature, however. The human cost of the housing crash has been fearful. READ MORE >>
Eight Ways Obama Can Jam Through His Agenda Without Congress
The Partner
Any taxonomy of first friends includes a few familiar types. There’s the amiable glad-hander destined for the outer Cabinet, like George W. Bush crony Don Evans. There’s the scheming, scandal-prone loyalist, like the Clinton hanger-on Harry Thomason, of Travelgate infamy. And then there’s the discreet consigliere who serves alternatively as fixer, sounding board, chief surrogate, and all-around defender of the faith. READ MORE >>
Is Mitt’s Willie Horton Ad Man Up To The Task?
Romney Won the Debate...In a Way That Inspired No Confidence
This wasn’t the most exciting debate of the campaign. But it was the debate that best illustrated the underlying dynamic: Romney’s going to win, but he’ll be one of the most flawed candidates either party has nominated in recent memory. READ MORE >>
