New York Times Predicted Current Housing and Mortgage Crisis - in 1999

The American Thinker's editor, Thomas Lifson, has a great post up today. It's concerns a New York Times article, written by Steven Holmes in 1999, that clearly laid out (and celebrated) the loosening of lending standards that have directly caused the current economic and credit mess: Must-read to understand the Fannie Mae crisis.

The Times article, Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending, describes exactly what the Clinton Administration was trying to do - get more minorities, regardless of income or credit-worthiness, into their own homes. It was doomed to fail from the start, and the article acknowledges it.

In fact, the most telling paragraph from the article, and the one that is the most eerily prophetic, is the following:

In moving, even tentatively, into this new area of lending, Fannie Mae is taking on significantly more risk, which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's.

Well, that's certainly what's happened, all right...

Sometimes I just want to scream!