Palin comes out of the gate strongly this weekend, showcasing her nuanced understanding of economic policy by declaring that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers."
Fannie and Freddie were, up until their bailout by the Treasury Department, private companies that didn't cost taxpayers anything.
Andrew Jakabovics, an economic analysts for the progressive think tank, Center for American Progress: "It is somewhat nonsensical because up until yesterday there was sort of no public funding there. Even today they haven't drawn down any of the credit line they have given to Treasury. 'Gotten too big and too expensive' are two separate things. The too big has been a conservative mantra for a while and there is something to be said of that in that they hold about half of the mortgage guarantees that are out there. And in the last year they have been responsible for roughly 80 percent out there. The 'too expensive to tax payers,' I don't know where that comes from."
It's important to remember that the GOP's practice of championing "down home knowledge" and moose hunting over actual knowledge comes at a serious cost. Somebody like Palin who doesn't have a clue about two companies that are the linchipin of the American housing market (and thus much of the economy) would have absolutely no ability to determine whether her Secretary of the Treasury is making a good or bad move in nationalizing those companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment