Filed Under: Anything Peaceful
Tags: barney frank • housing bubble • subprime
Barney Frank Gets a Little Heat
Rep. Barney Frank, one of the most vigorous advocates of using Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to encourage subprime mortgage lending, got a little hot under the collar yesterday when a Harvard student asked if he was willing to accept any responsibility for the financial crisis, which has its roots in a housing policy based on giving loans to people who couldn’t afford them. Ever the artful politician, he slithers out of the question by interpreting it too narrowly. He also tries to change the subject with his references to “right-wing” attempts to distract attention from the role of deregulation in the crisis. Of course, blaming deregulation — what deregulation? — is actually Frank’s attempt to distract attention from his and his colleagues’ culpability.See the video here.
