Barney Frank

Reckless Endangerment is Rare Wisdom for those Wanting to Understand the Financial Crisis

By DLB on August 16, 2011

When I first added Reckless Endangerment to my list of books to read in my series on the 2008 financial crisis, I saw that Gretchen Morgensen was a New York Times columnist, and assumed this book would be yet another carbon copy of the major myth that permeates discussion of the 2008 financial ...read this post

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Barney Frank, Countrywide, Fannie Mae, financial crisis 2008, Freddie Mac, Jim Johnson, TARP

Why Congress Should Have More Authority

By DLB on June 27, 2010

Today’s blog speaks for itself.
“I do not want Fannie and Freddie to be just another bank … I do not want the same kind of focus on safety and soundness.”
- Rep. Barney Frank, Sept. 25, 2003
“I’ll lay down my marker right now, Mr. Chairman. I think Fannie and Freddie need some changes, but I don’t ...read this post

Posted in Economics, Politics | Tagged Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Congress, everyone in the whole world should own a house, Fannie Mae, financial crisis 2008, Freddie Mac, GSE's, Maxine Waters is dumber than a leaf

How could anyone oppose something called “financial reform”?

By DLB on June 23, 2010

That some degree of regulatory reform is in order after the financial debacle of 2008 is incontestible. I do not know a conservative or a liberal who believes that every single part of the system is fine as is (or as was). However, the Senate and the House are currently in conference for ...read this post

Posted in Economics, Politics | Tagged Barney Frank, consumer protection, credit default swap, economic crisis 2008, Fannie, Freddie, statism, tokenism, Wall Street reform

Getting your Fannie Walloped for Christmas

By DLB on December 27, 2009

When it comes to a discussion of the various monstrosities the government is responsible for before, during, and after the economic meltdown of 2008, I can tell how serious someone is (perhaps “informed” is a better word) by whether or not they lead with the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac plot. If they say something like, ...read this post

Posted in Economics, Politics | Tagged Barney Frank, economic crisis 2008, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, TARP

How dare you pay us back just so you can do what you want?

By DLB on December 8, 2009

Andrew Ross Sorkin has a “big scoop” for you to read, and he broke it here in the New York Times today … My readers should know that I am a fan of Sorkin’s, and very favorably reviewed his recent book about the financial crisis here. So usually I am a Sorkin fan, ...read this post

Posted in Economics | Tagged Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bank of America, Barney Frank, economic crisis, TARP