Say Goodbye to Fannie and Freddie | William Poole | Cato Institute: Commentary

Say Goodbye to Fannie and Freddie | William Poole | Cato Institute: Commentary: "What a deal — borrow at the low rate, invest at a higher one, hold little capital and let the federal government bear the risk! Investors enjoyed high returns, and management enjoyed high salaries. Incidentally, politicians also got a steady flow of campaign contributions from the companies' executives."

"Can the home mortgage market stand on its own, without support from federally sponsored mortgage companies? Experience tells us that the answer is an unambiguous yes. When Fannie and Freddie curtailed their operations after the disclosure of accounting irregularities in 2003, there was no effect on mortgage rates. We have seen how the jumbo mortgage market, for loans too large to be eligible for Fannie and Freddie purchases, has long operated efficiently, with rates only slightly above the rates on smaller mortgages. And many other asset markets, like the one for securitized auto loans, have functioned well without federal intermediaries."

"In principle, it ought to be possible for government financial agencies to be self-supporting. But decades of observation have convinced me that there is no practical way to prevent the government from inserting hidden subsidies and special interest mandates into the agencies' operations. If there are to be more federal housing subsidies — and I hope there are not — they should be legislated transparently."

"Fannie and Freddie could not be shuttered immediately; they are too large. A sensible transition plan would have them stop buying new mortgages, and their portfolios would decline as the mortgages they own are paid down. Within 10 years, the portfolios would shrink to insignificance.

Their securitization business, whereby they purchase mortgages and issue securities against them, should likewise be wound down. A practical approach would be to set a gradually rising schedule of fees, motivating private companies to enter the securitization business.

In 10 or 15 years, the companies would be gone, closing a chapter in American financial history that enjoyed considerable success but ended very badly and at great taxpayer cost."

Downplaying Religious Freedom | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Downplaying Religious Freedom | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "The U.S. government long has promoted human rights. However, religious liberty typically has received minimal attention and has been subordinated to other American objectives, such as confronting communism and terrorism.

More than a decade ago, Congress passed the International Religious Freedom Act, which provided for the appointment of an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. The ambassador is to serve as a 'principal adviser to the President and Secretary of State' on this issue and promote religious liberty around the world."

Unintended Consequences of Trade Sanctions - Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan - Mises Daily

Unintended Consequences of Trade Sanctions - Jonathan M. Finegold Catalan - Mises Daily: "Trade sanctions are meant to destabilize regimes, forcing them to compromise with the aggressing government. Sanctions do this by threatening the regime's survivability, by undermining any support it may have amongst the population. These are the intentions of the American government, supposedly as a result of Iran's 'dangerous' nuclear program. (Ironically, sanctions may only increase the country's ambitions to become a nuclear power, as a weapons-starved Iran turns to the nuclear warhead as the only means to ward off American political aggression). Additionally, and tragically, despite American intentions, the more likely outcome is the unintended effect of pushing Iranians toward their government and undermining an otherwise growing local antiextremist movement.

By definition, trade sanctions regulate exchange between Iranians and foreigners. Therefore, these individuals are directly punished by trade sanctions, not their respective governments. Those whose businesses rely on the import of foreign material are now forced out of the market. The thousands of individuals who live off of cheap, imported foodstuffs are now barred from doing so. This leads to impoverishment by forcing them to pay much higher domestic prices for less food. Thus, trade sanctions may also lead to outright mass starvation, as they did in the case of Iraq."

"in a country where people's accumulated wealth is threatened by trade restrictions, government aid may be the only recourse left. Ahmadinejad's government is likely more than happy to win people over by aiding those harmed by American trade sanctions. Furthermore, the Tehran government is probably thrilled to use American-led trade sanctions to vilify the West and legitimize its own power."

"A relatively wealthy Iranian population is less likely to support a local government bent on creating tension with other world governments, as this would create the potential of a threat to that accumulated wealth. Furthermore, an Iranian population unperturbed by foreign restrictions on their ability to produce can then shift the blame of continued poverty onto the local regime. It goes without saying that without foreign intervention, the local government will find it difficult to point the finger elsewhere."

Issues with house value | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin

Issues with house value | Hudson Star-Observer | Hudson, Wisconsin: "roughly 84 percent of the houses sold in St. Croix County are not included in valuing your house for property tax purposes. However, as you know if you have tried to sell a house, 100 percent of the houses sold are used to determine what the potential buyer will pay for your house.

If the valuation of every house in the town of Hudson was decreased only 8 percent this year and was increased the previous years, perhaps the assessments, while still inflated, are probably fair across the board. However, houses that sold at a significant loss are assessed at a significantly lower cost than previous years. Homeowners that have been able to weather this housing collapse will be paying higher taxes and carrying more of the burden due to an inflated valuation that is not fair market value."