Heritage's Ronald Utt surveys the whole
subprime shebang and, as expected, comes out shaking his head. The whole thing is worth
reading, but here's the bottom line:

In response to the threat of a financial market
panic that could contribute to a severe recession, as well as to the growing
number of borrowers who might soon lose their homes, both Congress and the
Administration began to take a number of steps to address the problems.
Regrettably, they all involved expansion of existing federal programs and the
creation of many new ones, often at very substantial cost to the taxpayer.

Notwithstanding the constituent and lobbyist pressure to do something costly
and do it quickly, the history of government intervention in housing markets
and the economy has not been one of notable success. Many of the proposals now
on the table hold the promise of carrying on that tradition and doing so, as
noted, at great cost to the taxpayer. [Emphasis added–P.S.]

Naturally, many of our nation's Congress-critters valiantly refuse to let the long and
storied history of regulatory failure get in the way of what's important: More
failure!