Fannie, Freddie and Daisy Mae
It would be funny if it wasn’t so scary. George Bush is winding up his presidency by ushering in a financial crisis that not only threatens the security of the United States, but that of the entire world. In the midst of it all, the Republican Party continues to sing the praises of its choice for vice-president, an attractive, ditzy young woman who clearly hasn't got a clue and who could end up as the next occupant of the Oval Office.
One would think that the American people would finally have gotten the message that putting poorly educated, greedy businessmen, -- aristocrats disguised as common folk -- in charge of the nation, would invariably result in disaster. After a long political campaign where voters heard numerous politicians and their surrogates describe the United States as “the greatest nation on the face of the earth,” Americans find they are losing their jobs to foreign labor, losing their homes to greedy speculators, losing their investments to bankrupt bankers and losing their children to an unnecessary war.
Under the circumstances, one wouldn't expect that the race for the White House would still be in a dead heat. One would think that after the Emperor’s new clothes have been so terribly soiled that even the blind would be able to detect the indelible stains; one would think the country would finally rise up and figure out how terribly it has been hoodwinked.
If this was not the United States but a previous empire, such as ancient Rome or Imperial Japan, the perpetrators of the fraud would do the right thing: admit their responsibility, acknowledge their dishonor and fall on their swords for the benefit of the nation. Instead, many of the top soldiers of the regime are simply waving goodbye, telling the country, "good luck" and sailing away on their golden parachutes.
The closer we get to election day, the more the political scene in America is playing like a twisted rendition of Li'l Abner where the citizens of Dogpatch are taken in by the fast-talking banker and the politician bearing a sack of empty promises. The mortgage mess in particular is a story of greasy palms and cornpone. The tremors that now appear to be gravely jeopardizing our economy began several years ago when reports on the shaky subprime mortgage business surfaced focusing on the lack of oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage finance managers. Fannie and Freddie were a steady source of income for lobbyists, such as McCain campaign manager Rick Davis who was paid $2 million over a five-year period to provide access to the Senator from Arizona. By the end of 2007, it was clear that Fannie and Freddie had sponsored far too many worthless mortgage-backed securities as well as far too many politicians. It had developed a bad case of the financial runs and discovered it was stuck with worthless paper. And as Wall Street began stumbling, trying to figure out how to relieve itself in the succeeding months, what was America talking about?: Troopergate, field dressing a moose, and lipstick on a pig.
Perhaps we are getting what we deserve. The truth is we have become a nation of L'il Abners, a country of country bumpkins, fascinated by celebrity, amazed by the intellectually shallow, unable to tell the difference between "reality" programming and reality -- and now we are going to pay the price.
It would be funny if it wasn’t so scary. George Bush is winding up his presidency by ushering in a financial crisis that not only threatens the security of the United States, but that of the entire world. In the midst of it all, the Republican Party continues to sing the praises of its choice for vice-president, an attractive, ditzy young woman who clearly hasn't got a clue and who could end up as the next occupant of the Oval Office.
One would think that the American people would finally have gotten the message that putting poorly educated, greedy businessmen, -- aristocrats disguised as common folk -- in charge of the nation, would invariably result in disaster. After a long political campaign where voters heard numerous politicians and their surrogates describe the United States as “the greatest nation on the face of the earth,” Americans find they are losing their jobs to foreign labor, losing their homes to greedy speculators, losing their investments to bankrupt bankers and losing their children to an unnecessary war.
Under the circumstances, one wouldn't expect that the race for the White House would still be in a dead heat. One would think that after the Emperor’s new clothes have been so terribly soiled that even the blind would be able to detect the indelible stains; one would think the country would finally rise up and figure out how terribly it has been hoodwinked.
If this was not the United States but a previous empire, such as ancient Rome or Imperial Japan, the perpetrators of the fraud would do the right thing: admit their responsibility, acknowledge their dishonor and fall on their swords for the benefit of the nation. Instead, many of the top soldiers of the regime are simply waving goodbye, telling the country, "good luck" and sailing away on their golden parachutes.
The closer we get to election day, the more the political scene in America is playing like a twisted rendition of Li'l Abner where the citizens of Dogpatch are taken in by the fast-talking banker and the politician bearing a sack of empty promises. The mortgage mess in particular is a story of greasy palms and cornpone. The tremors that now appear to be gravely jeopardizing our economy began several years ago when reports on the shaky subprime mortgage business surfaced focusing on the lack of oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-backed mortgage finance managers. Fannie and Freddie were a steady source of income for lobbyists, such as McCain campaign manager Rick Davis who was paid $2 million over a five-year period to provide access to the Senator from Arizona. By the end of 2007, it was clear that Fannie and Freddie had sponsored far too many worthless mortgage-backed securities as well as far too many politicians. It had developed a bad case of the financial runs and discovered it was stuck with worthless paper. And as Wall Street began stumbling, trying to figure out how to relieve itself in the succeeding months, what was America talking about?: Troopergate, field dressing a moose, and lipstick on a pig.
Perhaps we are getting what we deserve. The truth is we have become a nation of L'il Abners, a country of country bumpkins, fascinated by celebrity, amazed by the intellectually shallow, unable to tell the difference between "reality" programming and reality -- and now we are going to pay the price.
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