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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Wednesday, Nov. 05, 2008

Dodd, Frank contributed to this crisis

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The Oct. 26 edition of "60 Minutes" fingered Congress in 2000 in the Clinton administration's lame duck session for creating credit default swaps (CDS), a quasi-insurance program for banks without any regulation. They were designed to insure the holder of government or corporate debt against the borrower going broke, a beneficial function.

Traders, however, created a market for CDS which evolved into the monster that devoured Wall Street and put our economy on a perilous course.

The risky loan practices by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other lenders to favor lower income home buyers and encouraged by Sen. Christopher Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank added to the current financial crisis.

IRA E. BAILIE

Denair