Mortgage Shake-Up Proposed

Last Thursday, a California Republican and a Michigan Democrat unveiled legislation to replace Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with at least five private companies that would issue mortgage-backed securities with explicit federal guarantees. Conservative Republicans want to advance bills to build a mostly private mortgage-finance system while Democrats say the government shouldn't walk away from the mortgage market, so this bill is seen as a compromise between the two. What do you think? Is the bill on the right track or is this really a terrible idea?

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