GM is a private corporation, too.
But, before we get to that chapter, -- Wow! Do you even bother to do any research, or do you just parrot what you read on some other candidate’s website? -- I'm sure you know that Fannie and Freddie have always cost taxpayers huge amounts of money, thus making every dollar FredFan spends a dollar that's essentially made possible because of federal unpriced benefits to GSEs.
In 1996, for example, the CBO said that federal unpriced benefits to GSEs (such as exemptions from state and local income taxes and, more importantly, use of the federal government's credit standing without paying a fee for that privilege) amounted to almost $7 billion annually. Again, note that that was in 1996 dollars.
So, yes, I should have been more clear that Gingrich was not paid with direct taxpayer funds. He was just paid with money earned by a GSE that cost the taxpayers billions a year -- even before the 2008 conservatorship -- and which GSE would have gone out of business without all that costly free stuff from the taxpayers to float its operating funds.
So if we, the taxpayers, were all that was keeping the GSEs from insolvency, whether our cold, hard cash actually was used to pay Gingrich millions to "build bridges to Republicans on Capitol Hill" is a distinction without a difference, in my view. That said, I agree with you that I could have made my point more clearly.
Finally, let's not forget that it was the already costly free stuff -- in particular, the cost-free use of the federal government's credit standing -- that helped lead to this horrendous taxpayer hit:
Fannie, Freddie execs score $100 million payday:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received the biggest federal bailout of the financial crisis. And nearly $100 million of those tax dollars went to lucrative pay packages for top executives, filings show. )
First, let me apologize for my snarkiness, I'm afraid that is a personal flaw that I am striving to overcome--unfortunately not terribly well especially when I see a constant barrage of what I see as unjustified attacks against any candidate. Neither you nor your comment deserved that kind of response.
Second, The "cost" to which you and the CBO refer are unrealized income from the interest advantages and other benefits that the GSE's enjoy. The problem with that sort of calculation is that they are false in their premise. Without Fannie and Freddie making those mortgage loans, their would have been no borrowing of that money and thus no interest payments on those loans. Therefore the "losses" are sustained solely based on the fact that Fannie and Freddie are making those loans--at the insistence of the government.
This is an entirely different thing from the implication conveyed in that charge against Newt, that they were receiving payments of tax-payer money from the government.
Again, the only costs incurred are reductions of the rate of return "income" that would never have existed without the two entities. That's analogous to a business not making the margin of profit they originally expected on a product--something not normally classified as a debit.
Gingrich severed his business ties with the GSEs as soon as the government moved to take them over and pour money into them.
As for that last point--like the very first point about GM--I fail to see the relevance to Gingrich's time with Fannie and Freddie. Gingrich was no longer involved in either operation by the time that this outrage occurred. This is an attempt at guilt by association and unwarranted.
Additionally, these executives are not those who were responsible for causing the problem, they are people who have been hired to resolve the problems. You can argue that they should not receive bonuses, but you cannot get the level of quality of people to do this sort of job without that level of compensation. Talent costs money.