Fannie Mae Health Care

A holdout no more, Sen. Ben Nelson agreed Saturday to provide the 60th and deciding vote for sweeping health care legislation in the Senate…
…Forecasters said the bill would expand coverage to roughly 94 percent of eligible Americans under age 65, …
…The estimated 30 million Americans purchasing coverage through new insurance exchanges would have the option of signing up for national plans overseen by the same office that manages health coverage for federal employees and members of Congress. Those plans would be privately owned, but operated on a nonprofit basis… Associated Press December 19, 2009

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were “private” companies created by the federal government. They were tasked with issuing risky home loans and buying risky home loans from banks to bundle them and sell them to Wall Street. Millions of non credit worthy American’s failed to repay these loans. Thus Fannie and Freddie set in motion the house-building collapse, the current recession, the stock market collapse, and the Wall St. bailout which by some estimates cost more than we spent for World War II (adjusted for inflation!).

So in the blinding wisdom of Congress, instead of the awful idea of a government run health-care option, they’re deciding to put lipstick on the pig and create a “private” company tasked with spreading coverage to the uninsured. This is brilliant. After the disaster wrought by meddling with home mortgages, politician still believe they have the Midas touch when it comes to business. Their blinding wisdom is instead blinding arrogance. Recent history has proven that their touch is less like Midas and more like the angel of death.