Dan Foley
Let me start out by saying I agree with the Occupy Wall Street folks if they are against government bailouts. I also believe it is not the government’s role to pick winners and losers in businesses, so once again we are on common ground. But as I drive by the folks on the streets in Albuquerque and look at the signs the people are holding up around the country I am shocked to see their anger is pointed only at Wall Street and the business folks.
Why is it they are not equally as angry at the folks in Washington who got us to this point? Why aren’t they asking President Barack Obama to give back the money he received from the very industry that led us to this point? Why aren’t they angry that entities like Fannie and Freddie where giving big dollars to Democrats who were fighting the tough regulations being championed by President Bush and other Republicans?
How come they are not angry at people like Representative Barney Frank, who, while involved in a relationship with a high-ranking Fannie Mae executive, was fighting any increase in regulation of a GSE (government-sponsored enterprise)? The simple fact that President Bush tried, at least 17 times, to get Congress to strengthen the regulations governing these entities was answered by party-line votes from Democrats in Washington, but this seems to go unnoticed.
I will say the Republicans got this wrong as well. These entities didn’t need tougher regulations, they needed to be shut down, and the government should have left the mortgage business totally. The fact is the government was in the very business it would not allow the private sector to enter into. The bank regulators would never have allowed banks to loan money for the very types of loans the government felt the need to guarantee.
Maybe instead of creating another level of government to do something this crazy they should have worked with the private sector to better understand these risks and how to create private-sector programs to allow people to someday become home owners. Allowing people to offer loans based on stated value and stated income without ever checking was a recipe for disaster.
Keeping honest people honest
I am reminded at this time of my Marine Corps drill instructor, who made me go to the quarter deck for individual training because I failed to lock my foot locker.
He asked me during my private session, “do you know why you should lock your foot locker Foley?” I responded with, “to keep thieves from stealing from me?” His response was pretty colorful, but the important part was, “No Foley. Locks do not keep thieves from stealing; they keep honest people honest!”
Both parties should have asked my drill Instructor what to do with Fannie and Freddie; his advice may have prevented this problem from occurring. I am not going to suggest he visit the folks who are part of the Occupy Wall Street movement because I am sure they will find very little in common.
In the end, if these folks want real change, stop blaming only the players and get to the root cause of this problem. Start holding up signs that call into question the very people and party that ignored this crisis at a time it could have been prevented. Ask the Democrats in Washington why they chose to play partisan party politics instead of at the least joining President Bush in strengthening the regulations on a GSE that was clearly heading toward destruction.
I hope before this is over the Occupy Wall Street folks will get to the cause of this problem and stop focusing only on the bad actors. Our future depends on it.
Foley, a Republican, is a former House member and minority whip.