The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : W. Liked Fannie and Freddie Too

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The Spectacle Blog

W. Liked Fannie and Freddie Too

By W. James Antle, III on 11.24.08 @ 3:24PM

Steve Sailer dusts of this Realty Times article reminding us that President Bush's program to increase minority home ownership relied heavily upon the generosity of Fannie and Freddie. Sailer asks, "By the way, do you ever get the feeling that historians will someday look back on the Bush-Obama years as a single era?"

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around the track| 11.24.08 @ 4:28PM

This should be required reading for anyone who says that W was an economic conservative!

Dan| 11.24.08 @ 9:33PM

It's not like W pulled a fast one on any of us. Expanded homeownership was part of his "Ownership Society" from the beginning, along with tax cuts, increased investment, private social security accounts. We ate that whole thing up in 2000 and 2004.

Clearly, the idea of the ownership society has a mixed success record. On the one hand, the tax cuts stimulated a growing economy for the next 5 years. Private retirement accounts, if he succeeded, would have gotten us on the road to making social security solvent. Homeownership? Not so much. The reason being tax cuts, private retirement accounts, etc. are all about getting the most out of YOUR money. Homeownership is about someone else's money, which you can't afford.

That said, by 2003, W was trying to improve oversight over Fannie and Freddie.

We can blame W, but we'd also have to blame ourselves - not for voting for someone we knew was not an economic conservative, but for voting for someone we were sure was mostly a fiscal conservative (with the whole exception of that compassionate bit...)

Dan| 11.24.08 @ 9:35PM

I should add, Paul Ryan is the new voice for reformed tax code, social security reform and healthcare reform - he's just not big on the free money for houses...

We should probably listen to him

Thomas| 11.24.08 @ 9:48PM

Personally, I am still waiting for some politicians to allow me to keep most of my own money. Between federal, state and local taxes, I am left with just about 50% of my income to spend, on my family, for frivolous things like food, water, clothing, my home, medical expenses, my children's education, insurance and the occasional dinner and a movie. What a wonderful country.

Dan| 11.25.08 @ 1:42AM

Thomas,

Didn't your mortgage payment and gas payments from Obama come in the mail yet. Don't tell me you didn't vote for him?!? Then you're really screwed! As Peggy Joseph said, you help Obama and Obama will help you.