Our readers will not find Rep. Barney Frank praised often on Pileus, but I did like this quote:
There were people in this society who for economic and, frankly, social reasons can’t and shouldn’t be homeowners…I think we should, particularly, stop this assumption that you put everybody into home ownership. Public policy has been too much to try to push people into home ownership.
Now my recollection is that Frank was as guilty as anyone in “pushing” people into home ownership. If more people in Congress had had this view 10 years ago, we might have avoided the whole financial crisis. Apparently he is a repentant sinner (OK, maybe not that repentant) coming to the alter. More than a little late, but better than never!
[On Freddie and Fannie: Don’t miss Marc’s post from earlier today. See here for more Frank quotes. In the early days of Pileus, I mocked the concept of predatory lending–which is euphamism the policymakers use to avoid taking credit for the government’s enormous success at pushing underqualified people into mortgages. And see here for a great Arnold Kling quote on predatory lending.]
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