Blame Congress for housing woes

Richard Franke’s Oct. 1 letter on the housing crisis was right on, and something the press has ignored.

Fannie Mae was the main cause of this housing-economic depression. What may have started as good intentions became a criminal enterprise. Fannie Mae pressured banks to make these risky loans, the banks soon started to like them, because with implied U.S. backing, they could bundle them and sell as securities. Fannie Mae’s bonuses and influence soared.

President Bush, the Congressional Budget Office and the FDIC all warned of the danger to taxpayers, but every time, Congressmen Frank and Dodd, and Fannie CEO Johnson, who was paid $24 million a year, accused them of not wanting poor people to be able to buy homes.

The actions of Fannie Mae, the big banks and congressman who let this go on should be fully investigated. The harm they caused in this country and around the world is criminal.

Richard Clark

Rolling Meadows