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I don't disagree with you. The entire issue, and comparing the US economy with Japan's, is a gray area. Fannie and Freddie have always been quasi-government or

I don't disagree with you. The entire issue, and comparing the US economy with Japan's, is a gray area. Fannie and Freddie have always been quasi-government organizations running with government contracts/charters. To make the conversation slightly political (since we are discussing government influence on the economy), I don't agree with most of the actions the government has taken in relation to the auto industry. Still, it's not as though the Post Office is acting as a savings account like a bank as was the case in Japan. That's a different shade of gray than what's occurring in the USA.

anamax 17y ago
> Fannie and Freddie have always been quasi-government organizations running with government contracts/charters. Yet, as late as early 2008, suggesting that there was actually a federal guarantee or that Fannie and Freddie should be under significant govt oversight was a sure way to get attacked politically. (McCain got absolutely hammered when he tried in a couple of years earlier.) Fannie and Freddie execs were prominent in Obama's campaign and some of them landed prominent jobs in the administration.