Fannie Mae

Edward DeMarco is the beleaguered bureaucrat in charge of an agency called the Federal Housing Finance Agency. And because the FHFA is now managing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, DeMarco's in charge of most American mortgages. He's been the target of resignation demands for weeks. more »

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The other day we appeared on Sam Seder's program, The Majority Report, to discuss the radical-right ideology of Edward DeMarco, a Bush appointee who became Acting Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and continues in that role because Congress won't confirm President Obama's nominee.

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Sometimes it's worth looking at current events through the eyes of a historian chronicling the end of an age, or those of a district attorney in a time of corruption. Come to think of it, the two perspectives aren't all that different.

However you look at it, calling the Wisconsin struggle a "labor dispute" is like calling the Battle of Normandy "a fight over a beach." There's a war on, one that's best understand by using an Latin expression popular among prosecutors: Cui bono? Who benefits? Gov. Scott Walker's union-busting budget contains buried goodies for somebody, including possibly the Koch Brothers who paid to have it drafted. More importantly, it's another step toward replacing the American dream of prosperity for all with imperial visions of massive wealth for the few. more »

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Somebody said that regulators need real power in order to be tough and effective. He said a strong, independent consumer protection agency is needed to help prevent the next financial crisis. And that we should help the millions of "responsible" homeowners hurt by the crash, instead of demonizing them. more »

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Buffett just offered a standard defense of Corporate America that allows companies to do terrible things without any accountability. more »

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Thursday night's passage of Wall Street reform by the U.S. Senate is an event to be celebrated, but several key issues remain in play as the House and Senate seek to iron out differences between their respective versions of the legislation. more »

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The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission examine the actions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two semiprivate institutions that together are the backbone of mortgage financing. The two agencies are favorite targets of the right, but will there be an equally tough progressive critique of the actions of the actions of the highly paid executives who run these companies? Taxpayers are going to lose a ton of money on Fannie and Freddie, as a result of decisions made during and after the financial crisis, but what other options have policymakers really had?

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Alan Greenspan's testimony before the Angelides Commission certainly provided a target-rich environment, as they say in the Pentagon. Unfortunately the Commission missed all its targets, leaving the American public as undefended from financial depradation and ruin as it was before the hearing began. It was almost anticlimactic when the power failed during the final fifteen minutes of Greenspan's appearance. The light had left the room long before then. more »

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Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner delivered a populist stemwinder of a speech the other day, bringing his rhetorical A-game with comments like these: "Listen less to those whose judgments brought us this crisis. more »

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