As war is politics by other means (Clausewitz), so too are Fannie, Freddie, and financial legislation politics by other means.

If you can’t convince voters to raise taxes to pay as you go on social welfare programs, then you need to cover the costs in other ways, whether related to mortgages, social security, medicare, medicaid, etc.

I watched Barney Frank on C-Span the other night. He was still fighting for the social welfare aspects of financial legislation. Like Chaucer’s Pardoner, he and his party tell you how they fleece you, and then they turn around and ask you to sign up for more of the same.

See Tom Wolfe’s “Man in Full” for the scene of a bank selling off the assets of a high-rolling real estate developer. Let the sell-off begin. No bonuses. No severance packages.