Defects of the Financial Reform Bill

“The Dodd-Frank financial reform bill is a complex, disorderly, politically motivated, and not well thought out reaction to the financial crisis,” says Nobel Laureate Gary Becker. The University of Chicago economics professor lists five defects he sees in the bill, among them: “One of the most serious omissions is that the bill essentially says nothing about Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. In 2008 these organizations were placed into conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. During the run up to the crisis, Barney Frank and others in Congress encouraged Freddie and Fannie to absorb most of the subprime mortgages. In 2008 they held over half of all mortgages, and almost all the subprimes.”