If you’ve been anywhere near a news outlet since sunday, you are probably well aware of the government seizure/take-over/bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Well, we pretty much knew it was coming.
And, as much as I want to write a concise post that sums everything up with a nice neat opinion, I’m afraid that there just isn’t a way to do that. Not even close.
The best I can do is offer my opinion, and a few from people I respect, as well as a link for more reading. Even at that, I’m waiting for one of my “go to guys” to post up his impressions about this situation. So, here it goes…
This is a strain on my libertarian roots. I really don’t like to see federal bailouts… but I think that there wasn’t a choice on Fannie and Freddie. And I hate that I don’t think there was a choice. The time for choices on this was a few years ago when the government was letting them get deeper and deeper. And I hope that this serves as a warning that the government shouldn’t be sponsoring the biggest player in the game… or any other player. If this were spread out across a bunch of smaller entities, it is less likely that they would all go TU at once.
But it is the unintended consequence that may be worse… What will be the next bail-out recipient? Banks? Automakers? Builders? It is an election year. Michigan is hurting. Their Electoral votes are important. Automakers are asking for a few billion dollars to re-tool… Which candidate is going to say no? The automakers are trying to make the case that if they don’t get some governmental support, they may perish. But, if they are bailed out, where does it stop? Maybe 1.3 million REALTORS® should be bailed out… No, I don’t think that, but you should be able to see where I am going.
Mike Mueller in California writes about his 68 Porsche and Fannie and Freddie.
The 24. I am pointing to a particular post, but I expect to see some more here…
He hasn’t chimed in yet, but I expect to see something from Ken Cook.
Google on the Fannie/Freddie bailout.
Don’t hesitate to shoot Lane a message if you have any questions, or need any help. And check out the new links for FREE Property Searching, FREE Comparative Market Analysis and FREE Market Reports. They are near the top of the page…
