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77 Percent of Americans Oppose Raising the Gas Tax, Reason-Rupe Transportation Poll Finds
Banks Viewed Twice as Favorably as the Federal Government, Reason-Rupe Poll Finds
How the IPCC Reports Mislead the Public, Exaggerate the Negative Impacts of Climate Change and Ignore the Benefits of Economic Growth
Housing, Mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 
Recent Research and Commentary
New at Reason: The Revamped HAMP and Some Corrections for the Record
February 3, 2012, 4:35pmOver at Reason.com, I have a piece today commenting on the revamped HAMP (coming on the heals of "new" new changes to HARP) program announced by the White House last week.
President’s “New” New Refi Plan Turns Out to Be Secret Stimulus
February 2, 2012, 2:38pmLast week on the blog we noted that the President sounded like he was proposing a secret stimulus in his State of the Union by talking about helping out the housing market and suggesting a new refinance program (or “new” new refi program since HARP 2.0 was just a few months ago). It looks like our fears were mostly justified.
Freddie Didn't Bet Against Homeowners, It Gambled With Taxpayer Money
January 31, 2012, 9:12amThis is one of the last places you will find me defending Freddie Mac, but as much as I would like to pile on to the recent story that Freddie "bet against homeowners" the reality is that the nature of the story completely misses the point: Freddie gambled with taxpayer money.
Still Considering Strategic Defaults
January 30, 2012, 8:07amI received an email this weekend from a reader asking about the effectiveness of strategic defaults. Even though this has been long debated, the continued weakness in housing has kept the discussion alive.
The Secret Stimulus in the President's New Refinance Program
January 25, 2012, 8:59amThe main critique of this program is that it is a stimulus program disguised as a program to help the housing market which actually only transfers money from financial institutions to homeowners who have been making mortgage payments while disregarding mortgage investors who include not just fat cats, but grandma too.
FHFA Says Principal Reductions Would Cost Taxpayers $100 Billion
January 23, 2012, 5:23pmFHFA has produced analysis for the House Oversight Committee suggesting that a principal reduction program applied just to underwater loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would cost the mortgage giants more than $100 billion.
View Resources by Type
StudiesBlog PostsOp-EdsReason.comReason.tv
- Unchecked Power: Damon Root Talks Eminent Domain Abuse and Undeclared Wars on Freedom Watch
November 28th, 2011 - The Tragedy of Urban Renewal
September 28th, 2011 - Battle for the California Desert: Why is the Government Driving Folks off Their Land?
August 24th, 2011 - The Battle For Brooklyn: Eminent Domain Abuse Gone Wild
July 19th, 2011 - Timothy Sandefur on The Right to Earn a Living
September 27th, 2010 - Anyone Care About Economic Liberty Anymore? George Thomas on the 14th Amendment
September 10th, 2010 - Damon Root Discusses Libertarians vs. Conservatives on the Supreme Court and More!
July 23rd, 2010 - Billionaires vs. Brooklyn's Best Bar
March 3rd, 2010 - Redevelopment
December 18th, 2007 - National City
November 15th, 2007
Housing, Mortgages, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Blog
- New at Reason: The Revamped HAMP and Some Corrections for the Record (2/3)
- President’s “New” New Refi Plan Turns Out to Be Secret Stimulus (2/2)
- Freddie Didn't Bet Against Homeowners, It Gambled With Taxpayer Money (1/31)
- Still Considering Strategic Defaults (1/30)
- The Secret Stimulus in the President's New Refinance Program (1/25)
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