Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Is More Debt the Solution?

Boulder, CO - In an effort to bail out stockholders, lenders, and homeowners, congress and the president have raised the debt ceiling by an ear-popping $800 billion, thereby allowing our nation's cash debt to rise above $10 trillion for the first time ever. As part of the package, the FHA has been given authority to guarantee $300 billion of mortgages to help about 400,000 homeowners, a meager fraction of the total. The major corporate beneficiaries of the giveaway are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee about half of all U.S. mortgages; these giant organizations have recently been on the brink of failure. The package also allows the Treasury Department to buy stock of these publicly traded companies to prevent them from plunging further.

Given the importance of the U.S. marketplace and the fragile state of the U.S. economy, failure of these entities would be a disaster with global consequences. But frantically increasing government spending without taking action to stem the long-term fundamental causes of our predicament can only briefly pause our economy's downward spiral. Most casual observers can see that the mortgage related problems in the credit markets are a result of increasing financial pressure that average Americans find themselves in. The immediate causes include loss of good-paying job opportunities and the surging cost of living. Both of these problems are traced to the failure to protect American industries and jobs with tariffs, to have a long-term energy policy, to control immigration, and to have a sound monetary policy. Therefore, the finger of blame must point at the elected leaders of both major parties for their gross incompetence and neglect of the national interest.

"When they seized failing banks in the 90s, the Norwegian and Swedish governments, known for their socialist leanings, were unwilling to 'socialize' the cost of bad decisions of private investors. As a result, bank stockholders lost heavily," said National Chairman Jonathan Hill. "Now we see our heavily indebted government, with almost $10 trillion in cash debt and $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities, taking the opposite road! If we do not change course very soon, harsh economic consequences will be experienced by many."

The America First Party platform calls for changes to spur economic growth. These include a Balanced Budget Amendment, the elimination of all unconstitutional spending, prudent and speedy elimination of the federal debt, and tariffs to protect workers and businesses.

America First Party
1630 A 30th Street #111
Boulder, Colorado 80301
http://www.AmericaFirstParty.org