Get Government Out of the Mortgage Business and Other Links

A few comments today: I like Sheila Bair.  She acts like a regulator should. When she warns of government exposure in mortgages, you should read the subtext as "if we in government are going to be the entire mortgage market, we have to ensure good lending standards." Joseph Stiglitz thinks the government should get out of the mortgage business. I suspect that Bair does too.

Topic of the Day: Mortgages

• Stiglitz: Fixing America’s Broken Housing Market – Project Syndicate
• Bankers Urge Government to Pull Plug on Fannie, Freddie – NYTimes.com
• FDIC’s Bair warns of government exposure in mortgages| Reuters

Oldie But Goodie

• “The Roving Cavaliers of Credit” | Steve Keen’s Debtwatch

The Usual Fare

• Economist’s View: Small Towns and Attitudes Toward Regulation
• Fiscal policy: So crowded, no one’s working anymore | The Economist
• Obama wins the right to invoke "State Secrets" to protect Bush crimes – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com
• FT.com / Columnists / Martin Wolf – Germans are wrong: the eurozone is good for them
• Ireland breaks up Anglo Irish as EMU debt jitters return – Telegraph
• Housing Choice – Help Today’s Owners or Future Buyers – NYTimes.com

Just for fun

• Brain cells determine obesity — not lack of willpower: study
• Setup Multiple Email Addresses for one Gmail Account [Google Apps]
• Why You Shouldn’t Rely on Clothing for Actual Waist Measurements [Reality Check] – Lifehacker