Government Takes Over Mortgage Industry, Too

As if it wasn't bad enough for the government to take over the auto industry, the banking industry, and large chunks of the insurance industry, but now they've just about wrapped up home mortgages (emphasis mine):

In the go-go years of the U.S. housing boom, virtually anybody could get a few hundred thousand dollars to buy a home, and private lenders flooded the market, aggressively pursuing borrowers no matter their means or financial history.

Now the pendulum has swung to the other extreme. Only one lender of consequence remains: the federal government, which undertook one of its earliest and most dramatic rescues of the financial crisis by seizing control a year ago of the two largest mortgage finance companies in the world, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

While this made it possible for many borrowers to keep getting loans and helped protect the housing market from further damage, the government's newly dominant role — nearly 90 percent of all new home loans are funded or guaranteed by taxpayers — has far-reaching consequences for prospective homebuyers and taxpayers.

The government has the power to decide who is qualified for a loan and who is not. As a result, many borrowers among both poor and rich are frozen out of the market.

90 percent?! The government now controls 90% of the home mortgage loans granted in this country??

Aside from the obvious fact that it was subprime mortgages -- mostly via Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- that sparked the economic meltdown last fall, how is this plan working out now?

There is growing evidence that many loans being guaranteed by the government have a significant risk of defaulting. Delinquencies are spiking. And the Federal Housing Administration, another source of government support for home loans, is quickly eating through its financial cushion as losses mount.

The outlay has already reached about $1 trillion over the past year and is rising. During that time, the government has pumped more money into the mortgage market than has been spent on Medicare or Social Security or the defense budget, more even than Washington has paid to bail out banks and other struggling companies.

Hey, what more could go wrong? (hint, hint...a government takeover of school loans, too).

Look, here's the bottom line. Barack Obama is trying to gain control over all money in the country, and who gets it. He's got cars, banks, and some insurance now. Via the unions, he's also got some great hooks into many other businesses and industries. He's shooting for health care and all energy producers, and will get them if we don't stop him.

What happens when the federal government can tell you whether or not you get money for all of these things? What if they say no, and there are no other alternatives? And what is keeping the federal government from discriminating against you for your political views, your campaign contributions, or your religious beliefs?

Hmmm...

There's my two cents.