Time to shut down Fannie Mae

Take careful note of what has been happening in the mortgage market. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were at the center of the mortgage mess, pressuring and enabling banks to let out bad loans, and then in late 2008, pleading for - and getting - tax money to cover the losses.

This article speaks volumes. The problem has not been fixed. The alcoholic has simply been given several more bottles of Jack Daniel's, and is on another bender. He now wants several more cases of booze, and a guarantee of a continuing supply.

It is time to shut down these Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs). Their existence is based on the idea that they can be self supporting. Clearly they can't. We've made a mistake. Let's cut our losses, take our (massive) lumps, and shut them down before they do any more damage.

TARP, the Permanent Slush Fund

US Treasury Secretary Geithner has said recently that he believes that TARP is effectively a revolving fund.

This is, at best, a real stretch.  Congressman John Kline (R-MN CD 2) is co-sponsor of HR 2063 to clarify the intent of TARP as a temporary program with an end.  This legislation needs and deserves our enthusiastic support.

TARP was misleadingly sold to Congress, poorly vetted, poorly managed,  has suffered from poor oversight, and attendant corruption and shows no evidence of being worth the enormous cost.  Naturally, it is now regarded by the administration as a permanent institution, worthy of continuing support.

This must end.  Even if you believe TARP was necessary, no one at the time of its passage saw it as a permanent slush fund.  I am outraged that the administration would consider ignoring the intent of Congress in this way.

I expect this legislation to get a lot of resistance from those who want to maintain the federal government's "flexibility".  We must work together to ensure the passage of HR 2063 and end the permanent slush fund of TARP.