No surprise

Housing in the U.S. has been politicized for many years. The recent boom-bust were inevitably touched by politics. The question of exactly how much of the "perfect storm" (which and how many weather fronts) originated in Washington DC is a difficult question that will occupy researchers for many years. Here is new evidence of the political roots of subprime lending.

There are still many people who sincerely believe that the consequences of growing political involvement are benign -- or even progressive (as in progressive redistribution). Many of the same folks also bemoan increasing inequality. I have no idea how they square that circle. But when several trillion dollars of GDP are politicized, there will be consequences -- and it is not a good bet that the resulting consequences will be either benign or progressive.