<i>The conservatorships have also strikingly failed in relation to our fifth and final objective of producing long-term mortgage finance reform. As Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wrote, “We described conservatorship as essentially a ‘time out,’ or a temporary holding period, while the government decided how to restructure the [government-sponsored enterprises].” However, starting the conservatorships turned out to be easier than ending them, and the “time out” has now stretched beyond its seventh year with no clear path to reform.</i><p>What did the government expect? It&#x27;s not like Fannie and Freddie are going to ask to be released from conservatorship and re-assume the risk that they are currently sharing with taxpayers. TARP, QE, bailouts, nationalization, and government conservatorships were all designed with the aim of preserving the status quo and keeping the system running on pre-recession paradigms. None of the organizations that benefit are going to voluntarily relinquish access to these crutches.<p>Releasing the two GSE&#x27;s would be a great test to see if the Fed and government&#x27;s plan for reform and economic stability has really been effective.