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The Spectacle Blog
In Bloomberg View, Ed Glaeser lays out the problems with the Obama administration’s floated plan to stimulate the housing market through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by refinancing mortgages on a mass scale. Glaeser notes that such a program would be hugely expensive, and wouldn’t stimulate the economy or provide a way out of the foreclosure morass. It’s a bad idea.
Unfortunately, the only reason the Obama team is considering it in the first place is that it’s something they may be able to do on their own by administrative fiat, without having to deal with Republicans. Glaeser guesses that the program would cost $35 billion a year for dozens of years — far beyond the price tag of any stimulus measure the GOP could be persuaded to sign onto.
In other words, it seems as though Obama is getting a little desperate for options, and seriously considering some bad ideas as a result.
View all comments (10) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Joseph Lawler
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/08/30/backdoor-stimulus-follies
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Occam's Tool| 8.30.11 @ 5:36PM
Definitely a "backdoor man" strategy. With all that implies.
Bob Grant| 8.31.11 @ 12:13AM
If that was a "back handed" slap at Barney Frank, I am..............in full agreement.
c. j. acworth| 8.30.11 @ 6:39PM
"...Obama is getting a little desperate for options, and seriously considering some bad ideas as a result."
You mean as opposed to all the good ideas he's inflicted on us so far?
David W| 8.30.11 @ 8:45PM
He just wants to see if he can spread money around to buy more votes (at least the ones ACORN can't get).
Just remember the new meaning of OMG (Obama must go)!!!!!
Bob Grant| 8.31.11 @ 12:08AM
This Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac is reason #1, 2, and 3 why we are in this mess to begin with.
To continue to feed the source at this point is down right criminal. ANY one involved in this should go to jail including administration officials.
Who's brilliant idea was this, James Johnson?
martin j smith| 8.31.11 @ 11:00AM
BOB GRANT: I agree there is a lot of criminal behavior going in both the legal and moral sense within and by Obama and his administration. Could IMPEACHMENT be considered at some point and if so when ?
Bob Grant| 8.31.11 @ 4:13PM
Well, my non-legal background tells me laws had to have been broken for it to be allowed to get this out of control. I cannot believe rampant ineptness was the only driver of this mess.
Moral corruption ? You bet. Specific laws broken? ...that's above my pay grade.
Where are the hearings? Come on Boehner!
Oldefarte| 8.31.11 @ 2:20PM
That idea is completely and asininely STUPID, and would hurt the economy instead of helping same. What's needed instead is a total flushing out of these indigent/financially inept homeowners currently still residing in these houses, so that same can be eventually re-sold to financially adequate/capable borrowers who will pay their mortgage notes on time consistently. If/until same is done, these houses that are not currently being paid for and the money is not properly moving, and the real estate industry will languish unproductively until such time. The source of today's housing/credit depression started in 1977 with the Democrats' CRA which began the banking/mortgage provider harassment process by government, and thereafter with government forcing banks to devise financial mechanisms ['creative financing'; no down payments] to survive under such circumstances. What's needed is for taxpayers/voters to replace Democrat politicians with Republicans and correspondingly for government run by Republicans to flush these deadbeat, non-paying housing welfare recipients out of these houses and to have same sold to financially capable borrowers that will consistently pay for same [and not become a HUD taxpayer burden on society]!!!!!
Bob Grant| 8.31.11 @ 4:16PM
I agree. These house prices have to find their real bottom and then go to market. At that point the next generation of RESPONSIBLE home buyers can shop for bargains.
This is the only fair and just way to move forward.
yisong| 10.27.11 @ 9:49PM
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