Check out the mission statement of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight:
OFHEO’s mission is to promote housing and a strong national housing finance system by ensuring the safety and soundness of Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation). OFHEO works to ensure the capital adequacy and financial safety and soundness of two housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. OFHEO works to ensure the capital adequacy and financial safety and soundness of two housing government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the nation’s largest housing finance institutions….
Conducting broad based examinations of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; Developing a risk-based capital standard, using a ‘stress test’ that simulates stressful interest rate and credit risk scenarios; Making quarterly findings of capital adequacy based on minimum capital standards and a risk-based standard; Prohibiting excessive executive compensation; Issuing regulations concerning capital and enforcement standards; and Taking necessary enforcement actions.
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Yet another example of the fat cat bureaucracy we live in… I hope somebody gets fired over this, but I doubt it.
Ben,
I think you miss the point. What Jeff’s title hilariously underscores is that government is so big, so incompetent, that it sets up bureaucracies to regulate things already being regulated by existing bureaucracies.
The problem, IOW, is with bureaucracy ab initio.
Let’s face the facts: if only the enforcement agencies had been given adequate power and tools and, of course, greater funding, the current crises would not have occurred. Only a Neanderthal could blame the current crisis on faulty economic theory and policy and an increasingly politicized mortgage industry.
A few tough new laws from our enlightened politicians and employing the right people in the regulatory agencies will prevent the recurrence of the current situation.
Dennis, you should read Hayek’s Road to Serfdom. http://mises.org/books/TRTS/
Makato, I’m pretty sure Dennis was being sarcastic. I don’t think anyone who reads Mises.org would really believe something so silly. Sadly, the majority of Americans do believe this.
Dennis, I don’t know what a Neanderthal would do or blame this crisis on because he would only know what barter economy is. And maybe not even that: intellectual endeavours were not among the things a Neanderthal was appropiately equipped for, I guess.
The Austrians are better equipped for intellectual endeavours. Endeavours of which some kick so much ass that they rule those of some enlightened policitians and regulators. In stead of blaming “the current crisis on faulty economic theory and policy and an increasingly politicized mortgage industry”, Austrian theory actually scientificly explains the current crisis on these characteristics. I think there is a difference between just blaming and explaining with intellectual rigor in search for truth in stead of political gain. Calling that nneanderthal asks for some nuance in the use of language.
Oh and ontopic: If I wasn’t feeling very sorry for the US (even when living in the EUSSR myself), reading this illustration of government failure in combination with a Homerian (Simpson) doh-feeling I think think I would surely be pissing my pants by reading this mission statement. Even the “The Crimson Permanent Assurance” in the Meaning of Life by Monty Python isn’t as hilarious as this. Reality is always ‘funnier’ I guess…
Very funny post. Sadly true.
All,
I was being sarcastic. And as Greg noted, I was referring to many if not most American’s views on economics in general and the current crisis in particular.
I think we need an agency to conduct oversight of the oversight of agencies — an Agency Oversight Agency. And maybe an agency to oversee the Agency Oversight Agency.
Now that I think about it, an agency to study the creation of oversight agencies might come in handy. Of course, the Oversight Agency Creation Agency will need some oversight …
Tucker, this could not be more spot on. I agree that a little Hayek would serve the Dennis’ of the world well.
Dennis’ of the world- try this: http://yubanet.com/regional/Michael-McDaniel.php
Wow. Dennis’s argument is that economic policies are irrelevant to collapses. I don’t think there is a single person on any of the many sides of these arguments that would think that. Yes economic policy is important, Barack believes that.
Still this post was kind of dumb. Its unclear what the subject of the last paragraph is.
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