“Real recovery is not likely until both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are replaced by a new housing finance system that does not include government distortions of the market.”
Four years after home values in America plummeted, fears over America’s housing market remain. In testimony before Congress yesterday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke cited “the continuing depressed condition of the housing sector” as one of the factors behind America’s sagging economy. In response to the poor market, the White House is reportedly considering a repeat of the historically bad decisions that contributed to the mortgage meltdown rather than pursuing a much saner course: eliminating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.