Fannie, Freddie and Uncle Sam

Parece que está na calha o desmantelamento dos dois braços armados da intervenção pública no mercado imobiliário americano, com fortes responsabilidades na criação e crescimento da lenta bolha que se foi desenvolvendo ao longo de 30 anos. O Fannie Mae e o Freddie Mac serviram para, ao longo deste período, o Estado americano subsidiar a compra de habitação a todo e qualquer interessado, manipulando e deturpando os normais mecanismos de mercado que, embora não impedissem a criação de bolhas, dificilmente permitiriam a sua perpetuação durante tanto tempo.

Este parágrafo no Wall Street Journal resume bastante bem o que ocorreu:

The problem with Fan and Fred from the beginning was not—despite the Administration's claims—that the profit motive corrupted their benign goals. Rather, the political influence and financial power of the housing lobby ensured that the companies operated outside the normal rules of politics and financial discipline. Thanks to an implicit government guarantee, the market never put any limit on their growth, even as their liabilities climbed into the trillions. Few politicians had the nerve to challenge a housing lobby that would attack them for opposing home ownership. The same political flaws would afflict a future reinsurer and its coterie of putatively private insurers.