government sponsored enterprise Archives

More use of the big lie: shifting the blame for the housing crisis

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 23 Comments / 29 December 2011 18 May 2016

Summary: Weakness always produces aggression by the strong, and we have chosen to be weak. In America the mode of conflict is information. Conservatives have worked long and hard on their information programs (aka propaganda). Their decades of skillfully conducted work have earned large rewards, advancement of their policies to the benefit our ruling elites. This …

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Who caused the housing crisis? Why do people not believe all the studies?

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 29 Comments / 15 November 2011 18 May 2016

Summary: Among our most serious problems is the success of well-funded engines of propaganda at manipulating public opinion, making effective public policy reforms almost impossible. Here we examine one example, convincing Americans that the government caused the housing bubble. This is a follow-up to Facts are an obstacle to the reform of America and Who should we blame …

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Rumors of the coming “Slam Dunk” economic stimulus

By Larry Kummer, Editor / Leave a Comment / 9 August 2010 11 January 2015

Summary: Having missed the last opportunity for legislation to avert the possible double-dip in late 2010 or early 2011, rumors fly that Team Obama plans a massive unconventional stimulus. I suspect these rumors represent the flotsam and jetsam from serious discussions held in secret. After the global economy crashed in late 2008, mainstream economists (e.g., Krugman, Delong, …

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Who should we blame for the mortgage crisis?

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 4 Comments / 16 January 2010 18 September 2014

Here are questions asked on the FM website this week (some of these were assertions, which I’ve rephrased at questions). Click on the question to go directly to the answer. Did FNMA and the other Government Sponsored Enterprises cause the sub-prime mortgage crisis? Did the Community Reinvestment Act cause the housing crisis? (1) Did FNMA and the …

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Has the US financial system been nationalized?

By Larry Kummer, Editor / 5 Comments / 28 October 2009 6 July 2010

No, but we’ve taken big steps in that direction. For example, the government owns a large insurance company (AIG). More importantly, it has nationalized 95% of the single largest component of the financial sector: home mortgages. From “Recent Developments in Mortgage Finance“, John Krainer, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Letter, 26 October 2009. Federal Housing Administration …

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