Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Dr. Frankenstein plays Van Helsing

It’s a grand irony American politics often engenders.  Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee helped create the subprime monster.  Now, he wants to drive a stake through its heart.

“Affordable Housing,” has been jokingly defined as housing people can’t afford.  The good intentioned push sought to provide extraordinary ways and means for otherwise unqualified people to attain home loans.

Yet, like the Irish proverb says, the good intentions paved the road to hell.  The political actions contributed mightily to the creation of the subprime industry and the current housing mess.  For years, if not decades, Barney Frank stood as a cheerleader and political quarterback for Affordable Housing. 

But now, he has decided to slay the very beast he helped sew together.  “We will bring a bill out in April that will stop people from getting loans in the future that they cannot repay,” he promises.

He fears that Congress must act, driving a stake through the heart of this industry. Otherwise, the monster will rise Dracula-like again.

"It won't be dead forever," Frank said of subprime lending. "It would be a grave mistake to think it's never going to come back again."

More here and here.

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