As a result of the high loan limits and the suppression of private securitization through the obstacles and disincentives listed below, approximately 90% of all originations and 99% of all securitizations are now government guaranteed. This is an ongoing liability for the taxpayers and an unhealthy fiscal position for the United States.

Government sponsored enterprises could be reformed using a specific plan that ensures the availability of mortgage financing while focusing the government on its relative strengths of providing a backstop against financial catastrophes and directing appropriate subsidies for affordable housing.

In the run-up to this weekend's G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European "austerity" with Barack Obama's economic policies.

In the latest Financial Services Outlook, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) housing experts Peter Wallison and Edward Pinto explain how decades of government intervention have gravely harmed America's housing market.

Since the 1930s, accountants and bank regulators have recognized the inherent weaknesses of mark-to-market accounting.

Joseph Antos' analysis of Medicare's fiscal crisis and reform options that could make the program sustatainable; a response to a request from 16 health professionals elected to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives for public comment on Medicare reform. 

"Given the disappointing March numbers, it is unlikely that this month's report will show a huge improvement. It is likely that the economy will add 120,000-140,000 jobs--small numbers that suggest protracted periods of sluggish growth still lie ahead of us." Aparna Mathur, AEI

President Barack Obama has been on a tour of college campuses touting proposals to lower student loan repayments for college graduates. He hopes to rekindle the enthusiasm of young voters, who in 2008 favored him over Sen. John McCain by more than two-to-one.

Ironically, these same young Americans...