In his column Welcome to ‘Moral Hazard’, Wall Street Journal editorial writer Daniel Henninger writes:
For behind it all sat Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, running mortgage liquidity into the nation’s neighborhoods like an open fire hydrant. Several years ago, when the Journal’s editorial board met with Fannie Mae’s top executives and pressed the issue of financial risks, we were told by way of ending the conversation that Fannie was merely fulfilling the “mandate of Congress” to spread home ownership across the land. Congress, of course, is a temple to moral hazard. …
For all the wailing about the high price being paid now of ignoring manifest risk beneath the mortgage crisis, are we angry at bad decisions that must never be repeated, or just upset that it all blew up? Because if it’s the latter, politicians will try to game the system again to get more risk-free benefits.
Which is it?