gsvol
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Government-run mortgage giant Freddie Mac, whose politically caused losses helped trigger today's financial depression, was ordered this week to oversee a vast new mortgage modification program and work with the same questionable borrowers whose defaults crashed the economy.
Furthermore, federal control over Freddie and Fannie Mae will continue until the entities can repay the $200 billion lent to them. This is estimated to take approximately 100 years, or never, whichever comes later.
Chafing under such intrusive restrictions, Freddie Mac CEO David Moffett is resigning after only six months on the job. Low pay, second-guessing, and Obama administration officials intent on making politically motivated loans were apparently contributing factors.
As for the banking industry as a whole, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is quickly running out of money because of all the banks it has helped.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Senate Banking Committee Chairman who is largely responsible for the mess, is now offering up to $500 billion in temporary loans from the Treasury Department for the FDIC.
AIG bailout, take four
The central government's never-ending bailout debacle of AIG reminds us of Ronald Reagan's apt comparison of big government to a baby's alimentary canal -- both having an insatiable appetite for taxpayer funds at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
After three "bailouts" for AIG since September totaling nearly $180 billion in squandered taxpayer funding, all the taxpayers have to show for their purchase is a company locked in a death spiral.
So, naturally, the Federal Reserve is throwing more money at the problem. Now that the government owns 78 percent of AIG, there is no end in sight for the ever-declining insurer.
On Monday, AIG reported a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss, all of which was incurred under the new federalized stewardship.
Left unexplained in this unprecedented federal takeover is a meaningful financial justification for the bailout scheme.
As a heavily state-regulated insurer, the company maintained adequate financial reserves for claims, while state guarantee funds exist to resolve any losses arising from inadequate reserves.
Instead, the public is given vague explanations suggesting it was necessary, that neither the government nor AIG need explain where the public's money went, and that the company's board of directors has not approved any of the government's interventions.
Furthermore, federal control over Freddie and Fannie Mae will continue until the entities can repay the $200 billion lent to them. This is estimated to take approximately 100 years, or never, whichever comes later.
Chafing under such intrusive restrictions, Freddie Mac CEO David Moffett is resigning after only six months on the job. Low pay, second-guessing, and Obama administration officials intent on making politically motivated loans were apparently contributing factors.
As for the banking industry as a whole, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) is quickly running out of money because of all the banks it has helped.
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Senate Banking Committee Chairman who is largely responsible for the mess, is now offering up to $500 billion in temporary loans from the Treasury Department for the FDIC.
AIG bailout, take four
The central government's never-ending bailout debacle of AIG reminds us of Ronald Reagan's apt comparison of big government to a baby's alimentary canal -- both having an insatiable appetite for taxpayer funds at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
After three "bailouts" for AIG since September totaling nearly $180 billion in squandered taxpayer funding, all the taxpayers have to show for their purchase is a company locked in a death spiral.
So, naturally, the Federal Reserve is throwing more money at the problem. Now that the government owns 78 percent of AIG, there is no end in sight for the ever-declining insurer.
On Monday, AIG reported a $61.7 billion fourth-quarter loss, all of which was incurred under the new federalized stewardship.
Left unexplained in this unprecedented federal takeover is a meaningful financial justification for the bailout scheme.
As a heavily state-regulated insurer, the company maintained adequate financial reserves for claims, while state guarantee funds exist to resolve any losses arising from inadequate reserves.
Instead, the public is given vague explanations suggesting it was necessary, that neither the government nor AIG need explain where the public's money went, and that the company's board of directors has not approved any of the government's interventions.