In what is getting to be something of a habit, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson ruined his own and a lot of other people's weekend by choosing the morning of Sunday, Sept. 7, to announce the seizure of money-losing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Fannie and Freddie are--childish names and all--by far the biggest financial institutions ever taken over by the U.S. government. Their bailout amounts to a stunning return to government control over the U.S. financial system, incongruously led by a former Wall Street boss (Paulson) working in what is purportedly a conservative Republican Administration.
It's also yet another...