Blog: Should The Government Stay Out Of The Mortgage Mess?

Added November 8, 2007 by Melanie G. Rogers

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This morning on the TODAY show, Jim Cramer said he thought Andrew Cuomo was overstepping his bounds by going after Washington Mutual. Cramer said that by doing so Cuomo was taking away a huge source of mortgage money. And that it's a federal issue.

So I wondered, what if Cuomo didn't try to prosecute Washington Mutual, or any other mortgage lenders, for pressuring appraisers?

In an ideal world the free market would enact justice. People looking to buy homes would hear by word of mouth that a certain lender is not following the law or is cheating borrowers. Borrowers would go to another lender. The state attorney general would not even need to get involved.

I wonder if Cramer believes this or if he is solely concerned about those trying to buy homes now.

I spent three months in Hong Kong this past spring. It's arguably the world's most free economy. I could send out my laundry and get it done for $5. I send out my laundry in Chicago and it costs at least $20.

There's no minimum wage in Hong Kong, unlike in 90 percent of the rest of the world. Whether this is a good thing depends on who you talk to.

It's interesting to consider how a free market would work without government intervention.

Nov. 8, 2007.

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