Fading Fannie

Why don't you all just f-f-f-fade away
--The Who

Funny how this story pretty much came and went with little fanfare. When historians look back on this period, however, the influence of the GSEs will likely loom large.

Even now, with their reduced market values, Fannie and Freddie remain instruments of government policy. GSEs originated in the late 1930s to express the New Deal policy of putting those who could not afford houses into houses. That policy has shifted to one of across the board buying of mortgages to keep the wheels on the real estate market wagon.

In fact, when one thinks about it, perhaps it's better for bureaucrats if Fannie and Freddie exit the public eye. Out of sight, out of mind...

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