Their Own Stupid Fault

In the wake of the failed bail-out of Wall Street, everyone has some kind of complaint, and here's mine: These financial companies did this to themselves and now they want help from the rest of us, while they let the individual homeowner go into bankruptcy. Democrats, Republicans, liberals and conservatives alike need to keep a few things in mind:

First: A NYT article from Sept. 1999 entitled "Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending" The title and date tell you most of what you need to know, the other part is that this easing of credit was at the behest of the Clinton administration. No one can blame this mess solely on Bush.

Second: A July 2008 Washington Post article about how the former head of Fannie Mae,. Franklin D. Raines, faced fraud charges brought by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight but settled them. He didn't even actually pay the settlement; it was covered by insurance. Now he advises Barack Obama.

Finally: no more golden parachutes. If a company fails or a CEO doesn't lead a profitable company, then they should get nothing when they leave. If the company is doing well, then they certainly deserve a bonus.

Catch a clue, people.

Now we just need to wait for housing prices to get back down to something realistic.