Blame to go around for perils of Freddie, Fannie

To borrow a Barack Obama line, “There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America, there’s a United States of America.” That’s true — and most everyone in it tried to make a quick buck off the housing bubble.

Since Ronald Reagan, Republicans have demonized government oversight as a liberal plot to dampen the animal spirits of America’s entrepreneurs. Let the market do the regulating, conservatives said. The market will punish those who make bad choices.

But guess what. Republicans are not letting the market bring the housing bubble to its bloody finale. The Bush administration is working feverishly to bail out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in addition to investment banks.

Blame to go around for perils of Freddie, Fannie
by FROMA HARROP | Houston Chronicle