Free Market Focus: 8 Steps to Eliminate Fannie Mae Permanently

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April 17, 2013     |    Discover more at Heritage's Enterprise and Free Markets webpage

8 Steps to Eliminate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—Permanently It is time to close both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—the government-sponsored mortgage giants. Both entities distort the country’s housing finance market by issuing mortgage-backed securities with subsidized government guarantees that the mortgages will be repaid. If guarantees are necessary, they should be priced and issued by the private sector, not by the state. Financial institutions expert David C. John details specific steps to achieve this shutdown carefully and methodically without further upsetting the delicate housing market—and without making the situation worse. READ HIS 8-STEP PLAN >>

Raising Minimum Wage Would Harm Most Vulnerable Job Seekers President Obama’s budget proposes raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour. This would hurt the very workers the President wants to help. When the price of something rises, people—both consumers and employers—purchase less of it. Americans responded to the higher cost of gas by driving less. Businesses similarly respond to higher minimum wages by hiring fewer low-skill workers. The vast majority (85 percent) of the most reliable economic studies find that raising the minimum wage reduces employment. READ THE FULL REPORT >>

Advancing Trade Freedom Through Trade Promotion Authority Renewal Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) has been a critical tool for advancing free trade and spreading its benefits to a greater number of Americans. TPA, also known as “fast track” authority, is the legislative power Congress grants to the President to negotiate reciprocal trade agreements. Provided the President observes certain statutory obligations under TPA, Congress agrees to consider implementing those trade pacts without amending them. LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS CRITICAL ISSUE >>

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