Tim Geithner Covers for Corruption on Pennsylvania Avenue — Charles Kadlec, Forbes.com

Last Friday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner charged in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that those who oppose the Obama Administration’s regulatory regime for the financial services industry “seem to be suffering from amnesia about how close America came to complete financial collapse under the outdated regulatory system we had before Wall Street reform.” Au contraire, Secretary Geithner, it is you who choose to ignore and misrepresent the lessons of the financial crisis by perpetuating the myth that the source of the crisis was a lack of regulation.

First, your essay glosses over the central role the federal government played in creating the crisis. In particular, the government through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac directed $5.2 trillion (that is trillion with a “t”) of capital to increase the supply of mortgages. In addition, it passed a law that required banks to make billions of dollars in loans to individuals that were unlikely to pay off the loans, in the end with 0% down.

In 1998, Fannie Mae announced it would purchase mortgages with only 3% down. And, in 2001, it offered a program that required no down payment at all. Between 2001 and 2004, subprime mortgages grew from $160 billion to $540 billion. And between 2005 and 2007, Fannie Mae’s acquisition of mortgages with less than 10% down almost tripled. These loans are now known as “subprime” and “alt A” loans. At the time they were made, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac encouraged their issuance by lowering their standards and buying them up from the now vilified mortgage brokers, S&Ls, banks and Wall Street investment banks.

This activity was not due to a lack of regulation or oversight as you claim. Both companies are under the direct supervision of a federal regulator and Congress. At the time these loans were being purchased by these two Government Sponsored Enterprises, their actions were defended by many in Congress who, led by Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank, saw such reckless lending as a successful government initiative. Keep reading »

Categories:     Tags: Charles Kadlec, Corruption, Crony Capitalism, Dodd-Frank, Fannie Mae, Financial Crisis, Greed, Monetary Policy, Regulatory Burden, Tim Geithner

Will Green Energy Scandal Hurt Obama Chances in 2012? — Editorial, Investors Business Daily

When government agencies are free to “invest” billions of dollars in speculative ventures, political connections — and campaign contributions — inevitably are entangled with the decision making process.  Green energy is just the latest example of how crony capitalism corrupts those who govern while providing the rationale for squandering billions of dollars taken from American tax payers.

Categories:     Tags: Corruption, Crony Capitalism, Green Energy, Obama, Power Motive