For the past several years, it’s not been an uncommon sight in
Anytown, USA, to drive down the street and see home after home
for sale after going through foreclosure. They are the still-
lingering hangover from the housing crash that began in 2007.
Though the true cause of what burst America’s housing bubble is
still debated, two of the culprits — housing finance giants
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are still going strong even though
both essentially failed in 2008 and are under government
control. Economists and politicians alike are now pondering
whether we need Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at all and what would
happen if they were eliminated altogether. For several years
prior to 2007, home prices went through the roof, but then they
crashed through the basement. Since then, more than 2.3 million
homeowners have faced foreclosure — an 81 percent increase over
2007. This all, of course, contributed to the Great Recession
we’re still rebuilding from today. “Easy credit” is pointed to
as the corrosive acid that