September, 09 2008, 12:25pm EDT
US Mortgage Giants Nationalized
Ron Blackwell of the AFL-CIO says housing prices falling faster than during Great Depression.
WASHINGTON
The Bush administration announced on Sunday that the Federal government
was seizing troubled Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Officials said that both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be placed in
a government conservatorship but declined to use the word
'Nationalization'.
The Real News spoke to Chief Economist for the AFL-CIO,Ron
Blackwell regarding this issue. Blackwell says, "They are effectively
taking government control over these agencies, by this action which
they would prefer not to have taken. But it was necessary and it is a
good thing that they saw this necessity of it. But they are looking to
stabilize this very very serious asset deflation we have under way in
U.S because of the bursting of the housing bubble we had last year".
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac currently either hold or guarantee half
of all the mortgages in the United States. Their portfolio over five
trillion dollars of mortgage asset would be an enormous burden for the
United financial system.
Many private analysts worry that it may not be enough to stabilise
the slumping housing market, given the glut of vacant homes for sale,
rising foreclosures, rising unemployment and weak consumer confidence.
"Housing prices are falling faster presently than during the Great Depression. This is very serious."
Watch the full story on The Real News Network: US Mortgage Giants Nationalized
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