In 2011, the Government Mortgage Complex accounted for 88 percent of all first-mortgage originations in the United States, with the government also controlling an estimated 90 percent of the student loan market. The government’s growing dominance in the home mortgage and student loan categories is cause for concern, posing a threat to private investors, borrowers, and taxpayers.

Recent economic research suggests that colleges siphon off a significant portion of federal education aid rather than lowering costs to students

A new report by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) argues that one of the greatest mistakes the United States can make is to imagine that Iranian activities in a given arena--the nuclear program, for example--are isolated from Iranian undertakings in another. The report examines those other areas

Few recognize just how troubled this government agency really is. When measured against the accounting system used by private mortgage insurers, the FHA is deeply insolvent, with a capital shortfall of tens of billions of dollars. If it were a private firm, state regulators would immediately shut it down. 

Retargeting FHA will be a long process, but that process should begin with allowing the temporary loan limits to drop.  While the reduction in loan limits affects few loans; a reversal will indicate that Congress is not serious about beginning the process of bringing back private sector involvement.  

The Federal Housing Administration is supposed to support low-income housing without costing taxpayers a dime. Today, the FHA is subsidizing middle and upper-middle income homes - and setting itself up for a huge taxpayer bailout. 

Export-related jobs are a huge and important driver of the U.S. economy, and the record of the Ex-Im Bank is clear: Using private funds and with minimal exposure to taxpayers, it has been a major driver of U.S. exports and a driver of jobs and corporate profits in the United States.

American Enterprise Institute (AEI) housing expert Edward Pinto assess the key facts to explain the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) deteriorating situation.