The government's history of distorting the market place is long, storied, and usually ends badly. Federal interference in the market place began in earnest during FDR's New Deal policies in the thirties and continues to this day. Many economists believe that the great depression was extended due to the federal government's marketplace interference. A recent study out of UCLA comes to the same conclusion, showing that FDR's policies extended the depression by 7 years.More recent federal government efforts have yielded similar results. Progressive policies originally implemented decades ago, and extended since, turned the mortgage business upside down.  The never ending recession was kick-started by the government's distortion of the housing and home mortgage markets through regulation and Government Sponsored Entities (GSE).  Today both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are owned by the federal government and are operating at a loss while housing prices continue to fall. Another...(Read Full Post)