| ID | 086967 |
| Title Proper | Political origins of the financial crisis |
| Other Title Information | domestic and international politics of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Thompson, Helen |
| Publication | 2009. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | For much of the last decade it was clear that the commercial operations of the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were creating an increasing systemic financial risk. That risk was compounded by the fact that the Japanese and Chinese central banks were acting as cheap creditors. The Bush administration and some Republicans in Congress made efforts from 2001 to create a tougher regulatory framework for Fannie and Freddie. Fannie and Freddie were able to defeat these attempts to constrain their operations by a four-fold political strategy involving campaign contributions to members of Congress, a vast lobbying apparatus, the cultivation of a political language around affordable housing for minorities, and abusing and smearing their regulator. Since Japan and China understood that the US government would have to assume Fannie and Freddie's liabilities in a crisis they had no incentive to expose the political fiction that it would not. |
| `In' analytical Note | Political Quarterly Vol. 80, No. 1; Jan-Mar 2009: p.17-24 |
| Journal Source | Political Quarterly Vol. 80, No. 1; Jan-Mar 2009: p.17-24 |
| Key Words | Financial Crisis ; Regulation ; Housing ; US Congress ; Campaign Finance |