Fannie Mae

Originally created by FDR as a government organization, in 1968, Fannie Mae was re-chartered by Congress as a shareholder-owned company, funded solely with private capital raised from investors on Wall Street and around the world.

Fannie Mae has a unique duty to the public it serves -- and the private investors that fuel its service -- to be a model company focused on service, reliability, and value.

From their website.

Freddie Mac

As a government-sponsored enterprise with an important public mission to make housing finance more accessible and affordable, Freddie Mac is unique. We have special responsibilities to the American people.

Chairman and CEO's Top Priorities
· Mission: Our goal is simple: to make homeownership and rental possible for more people than ever before.
· Corporate Governance: Excellence in corporate governance is key to building and retaining the trust of our stakeholders and achieving our mission.
· Affordable Housing: Every day Freddie Mac works hard to ensure that America's families are able to purchase and rent more homes than ever before.
· Financial Management: Transparent and accurate financial information and management are the cornerstones of Freddie Mac's commitment to support and expand America's housing system.
· Public Policy: As a unique corporate entity created by Congress to serve specific housing policy objectives, we think carefully about the impacts of legislation, policies, and industry issues both on our company and the entire system of housing finance. Learn about Freddie Mac's position on current issues.
From their website.

As a government organization and based upon the time it was created Fannie Mae operated off of government funds. It couldn’t make tons of high-risk loans. There was no money for that. Ah, but as a privatized organization, it needed to expand, generate funds, broaden the base. Yes, maybe even make some risky loans. So Americans could own houses. All for the common good. No profit in that. They focused on service, reliability and value.

Freddie Mac had transparent and accurate financial management as one of its five top priorities as a government-sponsored enterprise.

Now they are $5 billion in the hole. $5 Billion and the government has to bail them out. Nice addition to the national debt, eh.

from Bloomberg--
"The government-chartered companies, which own or guarantee about half the $12 trillion of U.S. mortgages, can count on a federal lifeline, said Republican Senator John McCain, of Arizona, and Democratic Senator Charles Schumer, of New York.

The remarks by the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and the head of the congressional Joint Economic Committee followed a slide in the firms' shares to the lowest level since 1991. They indicate Congress would push the administration to use government funds to prevent the companies from failing and threatening a deeper housing recession."

We love to privatize those government organizations. Who the hell made the $5 Billion? I’d like to shake his hand. Got more spunk than the CEO of Exxon-Mobil had. Even Fat Bastard himself could not get a big enough handout from the government.

Ranting aside, what happens if the government has to take over this financial mess. How big can the country debt get? Who can pay it off? That would be like close to $40,000 for every living American over 3 minutes old. Or so. (nice valley girl sentence construction, eh?) Do you have a spare $40,000?

I am tired of the anti-elitist arguments in this country. I want someone who can perform governance at a high function and not blow what is ultimately MY MONEY! I have heard people carp about welfare queens, illegal immigrants and more for years. Combined, they don’t take and piss away $5 BILLION dollars under the cover and goals of good governance. That $5,000,000,000 had to go into someone pockets and sure as hell did not go the lower and middle classes.

It is time to seriously look at reassessing the way taxes are paid in this country. The country is bleeding and it takes money to fix it. It cannot come from the lower classes as they struggle to pay for $5/gallon gas. Or $2.69/dozen eggs. It is time to ask those who have gained power and money at the expense of others to pay back. And lest you think I am a socialist rabble-rouser, I am not. I have lived in a commune and know communism cannot work. But it is apparent that free market economy, Reaganomics and laissez faire principles have bankrupted this country (literally). I believe it was George Carlin (and I could be wrong, it might be Death by Stereo) who stated “Don’t piss on my head and tell me it is raining out.” Citizens, welcome to the benefits of trickle down economy.

I just hope at 60, I do not have to move into a tent so some fat ass cat gets caviar and a Bentley. maybe I will be able to afford aspirin for my arthritis.

rojo