Posted on 11/24/2010 8:15:29 AM PST by Lazamataz
With a Republican majority taking control of the House of Representatives in January, Congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass., worries that his job spending the country‘s money won't be as fun as it used to be. In fact, the current House Financial Services Chairman predicts that serving on the Appropriations Committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will be a "great pain in the ass."
(Excerpt) Read more at nation.foxnews.com ...
He should know...
Touchy! He’s a bit anal about laws he passes.
Touchy! He’s a bit anal about laws he passes.
Hate to see him go thru that. Maybe he should quit.
"Great" as compared to what?
Like a gerbil with sharpened nails.
Oompa loompa loompity doo,
Laz wouldn’t hit that and neither should you...
In that case, he’ll enjoy it.
While the mental picture provided by what I’m about to say may wake one in a cold sweat, here’s hoping the new GOP majority is the biggest pain in the ass of Barney’s miserable life.
It’s not going to be pleasant for the gerbils either.
I thought pain was part of the fun.
We know Barney, it sucks to be you.
He’s bitten off more than he can screw.
Oh My.....I’ve seen this a few times and knew it was just crying out for some commentary.
You’re correct, Headlines sometimes write themselves.
No pictures.
JEFF JACOBY
Frank’s fingerprints are all over the financial fiasco
By Jeff Jacoby , Globe Columnist | September 28, 2008
...
The roots of this crisis go back to the Carter administration. That was when government officials, egged on by left-wing activists, began accusing mortgage lenders of racism and “redlining” because urban blacks were being denied mortgages at a higher rate than suburban whites.
The pressure to make more loans to minorities (read: to borrowers with weak credit histories) became relentless. Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act, empowering regulators to punish banks that failed to “meet the credit needs” of “low-income, minority, and distressed neighborhoods.” Lenders responded by loosening their underwriting standards and making increasingly shoddy loans. The two government-chartered mortgage finance firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, encouraged this “subprime” lending by authorizing ever more “flexible” criteria by which high-risk borrowers could be qualified for home loans, and then buying up the questionable mortgages that ensued.
...
A manual issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston advised mortgage lenders to disregard financial common sense. “Lack of credit history should not be seen as a negative factor,” the Fed’s guidelines instructed. Lenders were directed to accept welfare payments and unemployment benefits as “valid income sources” to qualify for a mortgage. Failure to comply could mean a lawsuit.
...
Time and time again, Frank insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good shape. Five years ago, for example, when the Bush administration proposed much tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that “these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis.” When the White House warned of “systemic risk for our financial system” unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing.
Now that the bubble has burst and the “systemic risk” is apparent to all, Frank blithely declares: “The private sector got us into this mess.” Well, give the congressman points for gall. Wall Street and private lenders have plenty to answer for, but it was Washington and the political class that derailed this train. If Frank is looking for a culprit to blame, he can find one suspect in the nearest mirror.
Well Barney would know all about being a pain in the ass I would expect.
Whenever the media has a ‘pain in the ass’ question, Barney is the go to expert. He’s already made a request to be buried face down.
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