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Begin New Search Topic Government Political Geography United States Content Type Policy Brief

31. Anatomy of a Train Wreck: Causes of the Mortgage Meltdown

Author:
Stan J. Liebowitz
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Independent Institute
Abstract:
Why did the mortgage market melt down so badly? Why were there so many defaults when the economy was not particularly weak? Why were the securities based upon these mortgages not considered anywhere as risky as they actually turned out to be? This report concludes that, in an attempt to increase home ownership, particularly by minorities and the less affluent, virtually every branch of the government undertook an attack on underwriting standards starting in the early 1990s. Regulators, academic specialists, GSEs, and housing activists universally praised the decline in mortgage-under- writing standards as an “innovation” in mortgage lending. This weakening of underwriting standards succeeded in increasing home ownership and also the price of housing, helping to lead to a housing price bubble. The price bubble, along with relaxed lending standards, allowed speculators to purchase homes without putting their own money at risk. The recent rise in foreclosures is not related empirically to the distinction between subprime and prime loans since both sustained the same percent- age increase of foreclosures and at the same time. Nor is it consistent with the “nasty subprime lender” hypothesis currently considered to be the cause of the mortgage meltdown. Instead, the important factor is the distinction between adjustable-rate and fixed-rate mortgages. This evidence is consistent with speculators turning and running when housing prices stopped rising.
Topic:
Economics, Government, Markets, Financial Crisis, and Minorities
Political Geography:
United States

32. How Did We Get into This Financial Mess?

Author:
Lawrence H. White
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
As policymakers confront the ongoing U.S. financial crisis, it is important to take a step back and understand its origins. Those who fault "deregulation," "unfettered capitalism," or "greed" would do well to look instead at flawed institutions and misguided policies. The expansion in risky mortgages to under qualified borrowers was encouraged by the federal government. The growth of "creative" nonprime lending followed Congress's strengthening of the Community Reinvestment Act, the Federal Housing Administration's loosening of down-payment standards, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development's pressuring lenders to extend mortgages to borrowers who previously would not have qualified.
Topic:
Economics and Government
Political Geography:
United States

33. Nuclear Renaissance: Is It Coming? Should It?

Author:
Sharon Squassoni
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Expectations for nuclear energy have grown dramatically. More than thirty nations now have plans to build nuclear power plants for the first time. A nuclear renaissance, however, is not a foregone conclusion. A major expansion would require significant policy and financial support from governments. Key questions need solid answers beforehand: Can nuclear power help reduce dependence on foreign oil or contribute significantly to needed reductions in carbon emissions? Is nuclear power economically competitive? Can safety be assured and is an acceptable solution for nuclear waste at hand? Can nuclear power be expanded in such a way as to adequately control the added risks of proliferation? To minimize some of the risks of nuclear expansion—whether related to economics, safety, security, or proliferation—the United States should consider several actions: help strengthen the rules of nuclear commerce and transparency, deemphasize the element of national prestige with respect to nuclear energy, help other countries undertake clear-eyed assessments of all available options for generating electricity, and limit the acquisition of sensitive nuclear technologies like uranium enrichment and spent-fuel reprocessing.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

34. Abolishing Nuclear Weapons: Why the United States Should Lead

Author:
George Perkovich
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The next American president should emphasize the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and really mean it. The verification and enforcement mechanisms that would be required to achieve this would augment U.S. and global security at a time when the nuclear industry will likely expand globally. Without a clearer commitment to the elimination of all nuclear arsenals, non–nuclear-weapon states will not support strengthened nonproliferation rules, inspections, and controls over fissile materials. The accounting and control over nuclear materials that would be necessary to enable nuclear disarmament would greatly reduce risks that terrorists could acquire these materials. If nuclear deterrence would work everywhere and always, we would not worry about proliferation. If nuclear deterrence is not fail-safe, the long-term answer must be to reduce the number and salience of nuclear weapons to zero.
Topic:
Government, Nuclear Weapons, Peace Studies, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States and America

35. Strengthen the Millennium Challenge Corporation: Better Results are Possible

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is one of the outstanding innovations of the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush. No other aid agency-foreign or domestic-can match its purposeful mandate, its operational flexibility and its potential muscle.
Topic:
Development, Government, Humanitarian Aid, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

36. A Bridge to Somewhere: Rethinking American Transportation for the 21st Century

Author:
Robert Puentes
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In the past, strategic investments in our nation's transportation infrastructure—the railroads in the 19th century, the interstates in the 20th—turbocharged growth and transformed the country. But more recently, America's transportation infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth and evolution of its economy. At the precise time when the nation desperately needs to prioritize its limited investments and resources, the federal transportation program has lost focus.
Topic:
Development, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and America

37. Is the Gold Standard Still the Gold Standard among Monetary Systems?

Author:
Lawrence H. White
Publication Date:
02-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Critics have raised a number of theoretical and historical objections to the gold standard. Some have called the gold standard a “crazy” idea. The gold standard is not a flawless monetary system. Neither is the fiat money alternative. In light of historical evidence about the comparative magnitude of these flaws, however, the gold standard is a policy option that deserves serious consideration.
Topic:
Economics and Government
Political Geography:
United States

38. PolicyWatch #1418: New FBI Powers: A Necessary Step for Counterterrorism

Author:
Michael Rolince
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On October 3, the Department of Justice published the revised Attorney General Guidelines (AGG), which govern all Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) activities, including those involving international terrorism. The AGG comes into effect on December 1, 2008, and will consolidate procedures controlling the FBI's various investigative programs. Although members of Congress, civil rights groups, and the media have criticized the AGG, the revision is a necessary and important step for the FBI's counterterrorism investigations as well as all of the Bureau's investigative programs. Justice Department and FBI officials, however, will have to exert strong leadership to ensure the appropriate and effective implementation of the guidelines.
Topic:
Government and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States

39. PolicyWatch #1398: Pakistan after Musharraf: Growing U.S. Challenges

Author:
Simon Henderson
Publication Date:
08-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Today's resignation of Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf creates a power vacuum in the most crucial country in the fight against al-Qaeda and Islamic extremism. For the foreseeable future, political power in Pakistan will not be in the hands of lackluster prime minister Yousef Raza Gilani, but in those of the ruling coalition rivals -- Benazir Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Future political contests will likely emphasize Musharraf's perceived closeness to Washington, an issue that united domestic opinion against him. This growing political reality, in addition to Islamabad's unwillingness to confront Islamic militants, further complicates U.S. policy toward Pakistan.
Topic:
Government, Islam, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, and Asia

40. PolicyWatch #1366: A Roadmap for the Foreign Terrorist Organizations List

Author:
Patrick Clawson
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Although the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list has a set of criteria for designating groups, there is little clarity in practice about the process for revocation. Even after organizations have renounced terrorism for many years, their designations persist without a clear explanation, and are based on the assumption that historical violence indicates future potential.
Topic:
Government and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States