Which pea is hiding the federal COVID-19 relief. Is it under this one, that one, or how about...??

Things I think…. 

….especially when the nation and the world are spinning in COVID-19 misinformation and fears.

A million years ago when I worked at Fannie Mae, management always was sensitive to non-mortgage market situations—like coronavirus fallout--causing us to issue relaxed repayment and foreclosure rules to our lenders and seller servicers, whose staffs interacted directly with mortgagors and are paid by Fannie and Freddie to be that interface.

A few days ago, responding to possible COVID-19 financial dislocations, this GSE standard announcement came from the office of FHFA Director Mark Calabria.

Why?

Why didn’t he allow managements, at both places, to make that public call?

The same novel coronavirus problems—with great delight and satisfaction at the FHFA, I suspect—generated a Calabria public announcement that his GSE risk-based capital rules will be delayed, too. (Again, no surprise to the cognoscenti.)

If I didn’t know better, I might assume the Director—who could be missing all of that ersatz self-generated applause and adulation from his whirlwind tour of trade association speaking events—was seeking to take credit for various natural and automatic GSE actions????

He wouldn’t do that, would he?

I also hope Secretary Mnuchin’s recent hiring of former Fannie executive David Brooks--brought into the OCC (also part of Treasury)--will allow the Secretary to task Brooks with completing what Craig Philips, a former Mnuchin aide, all but did before departing Treasury, i.e. publishing the final rules to end GSE Conservatorship.

I guess Director Calabria hasn’t hired enough Conservative cronies for his comfort or spent enough GSE income on outside consultants, yet, to want to use Brooks’ excellent help?

Calabria appears always to take advantage of delay and obstacles to justify slow-walking every official act he takes.

One day, I expect to hear a morning weather report stating, “It’s warm in DC today and the sun is up, which is bad news for the GSEs, since FHFA’s risk-based capital rules will be held up, again, until more moderate temps prevail.”

I wonder if/when it will occur to the POTUS that quickly ending this charade and freeing the GSEs this year might be an election plus for him?

The President seems overwhelmed and nasty—almost as much as the voters—with media challenges and questions showing the Emperor isn't  wearing any clothes!” 

COVID-19 and President Trump 

How can four dozen NBA players get tested for COVID-19, but thousands of other less prominent folks (many NBA fans of those same teams) not be able to find or qualify for those much-in- demand health tests???

I don’t condemn President Donald Trump for that. Selfish people with resources always will find a way to put “I” before “we” and bully their way to the front of any line.

Where I do blame the President is for his personal ignorance, arrogance, and his professional/civic irresponsibility for NOT recognizing and dramatically addressing the COVID-19 problem weeks ago.

Because of his bias, crass and jaundiced approach to science and medical information, he has been culpably misleading the American people from Day One about the COVID-19 risk to us, our families, and our nation.

He is guilty of underemphasizing the threat, the medical severity of the issue, mixing in xenophobia, with his Admin’s lack of any meaningful early federal response to supporting local/state governments which now are trying desperately to deal with their part of this pandemic. 
Governors Mike Dewine (R-Ohio), Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), and Gavin Newsome (D-Cal.), and others have displayed far more courage, comprehension, and aggressive management than Mr. Trump.

He first claimed COVID-19 was “under control in the U.S."; then said warm weather would solve the problem; finally, COVID-19 will be no worse than previous flu forms. 
But Americans in growing numbers then began getting infected with coronavirus and dying.

Public health matters got dramatically worse after his early mendacities--with worse medical and economic woes predicted--but he’s still at it

Just last week, almost pathetically, on national TV, the POTUS peddled inaccuracies to a very frightened U.S. public--desperate for urgent help and accurate information--suggesting COVID-19 “cures” might exist in current anti-malaria vaccines, which haven’t been tested for their relevance for coronavirus (and which would take months to produce); repeated his canard about the easy availability of COVID-19 tests materials and test availability, which is getting walked back daily by medical officials; erred by weeks owing to under-readiness about when and US hospital ships will arrive in New York and on the west coast, both hard-hit COVID-19 areas; and forcefully sought to verbally pummel a reporter who asked him to offer a hopeful statement to the frightened nation.

Has DJT invoked the Defense Production ordering businesses to produce much-needed medical supplies, or not? Did he follow up with any of the US car makers who offered to convert their production lines to build hospital ventilators (see GM's Mary Barra's willingness)? Did he accept Chinese billionaire Jack Ma's offer, almost two weeks ago, to send the United States 500,000 test kits and a million medical masks??

The President has been very clear that he bears no responsibility for any of the errors, poor leadership, lies, and confusion, egomaniacally giving himself a “10” for his Admin’s COVID-19 handling and performance.

I hope all of you, come November, remember this Trump-farce as your 401(K) melts and the presidential election races toward us.

You will have a chance then to repay the President for all of his lassitude, ignorance of science, empty boasting, and unwillingness to listen to the smarter people around him who would tell him when he’s wrong.

Thankfully, Vice President Pence keeps NIH’s Dr. Anthony Fauci and FDA Commissioner Steve Hahn nearby who then regularly correct the President’s tall tales (although that adds to the problem because most people would prefer their President to make the accurate statements, not to be staff-corrected).

And kudos also to CNN’s constant coverage of the President’s COVID-19 hijinks.

Colbert King, writing in the March 21 Washington Post, advises readers who want better health and greater information accuracy to “just ignore President Trump.”

Maloni, 3-22-2020

This President lies about CVD-19 available test supplies, the ease of getting a test, and a lot more. Why should you trust him?

This blog was drafted but not distributed before the President's disastrous speech last night!

 GSE and Other Things I Think About

Skeptics/Skepticism.

In addition to NAFL, “not being a “%$#@^& lawyer,” I’ve always given credence to stories about UFOs, Bigfoot, and Nessie (if for no other reason than the thousands of sightings all of which can't be imagined or phony).

That’s why I  believe stories about insufficient CVD-19 tests, medical shortages, and current bureaucratic responses to immediate and emergency situations (misplaced allocation of resources). 
Proving I am an equal opportunity doubter, I also believe that some folks, actively, are manipulating GSE and other company stock prices. It’s a variation of buy-low and sell-high. But they better be certain that which they artificially knockdown can come back. 

Whether it’s a major investor--who holds stock they expect to go higher after a near term drop or some nefarious “other”--this feeling is haunting this observer of more than 20 years of anti-GSE shenanigans, twists and turns. Coronavirus scares and POTUS’s good friends—Vlad Putin and the Saudi royal family—clashing and crushing oil prices should not have this impact on Fannie and Freddie stock prices. (BTW. let’s hope the untrustworthy Saudis cripple Vlad’s oil-based economy, since there is nothing good for the US inside Russia or among the country’s leadership, which still screws its citizens).
I also suspect that there is great joy at 400 7^th, St, SW, Washington, the address of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and Mark Calabria, the GSEs’ safety and soundness Director and Conservatorship maven, where no good words get spoken.

That’s because anything which makes the GSEs look bad or weaker enhances MC’s megalomania that only he and his little DC posse of incompetents can salvage the secondary mortgage market for the nation.

I am certain—given the level of mortgage finance unsophistication in Washington-- the regular forces who seek to cast the GSEs in the worst possible light and perpetuate disdain—will spin the falling stock prices causing more “bad GSE business model” talk and speculation.

Of course, those same elements will ignore or dismiss for cause the avalanche of future Fannie and Freddie refi business that will hit GSE books for the rest of this year (longer?), owing to the Fed’s recent rate cut, to which the central bank could match in a few more weeks when it meets again. 

Early 2020 F&F business volumes will juice GSE revenue for the next few quarters, as refinancings flood the secondary mortgage market.

That failure to see the trees for the forest certainty includes the “Calabria Posse” using softening stock prices to argue publicly “this” is why FHFA/Calabria need to keep the GSEs right where they are, i.e. under tight administrative control and needing bank-like capital levels.

Of course, I am not sure this logic applies to every business and every industry suffering from massive stock market dislocation. Without doubt, the POTUS will seek to pump cash this election year into many of those suffering commercial interests. But an end to Conservatorship won’t be on that White House list, since the Fed's actions already has assured 2020 GSE business revenues.

Poor Fed Chairman Powell is regularly abused by our President because DJT not only doesn’t understand monetary policy, but U.S. history,  or the CVD-19. (Remember he assured the nation CVD-19 will disappear once warm weather is on us).

The Congress (likely the House) should be slow to aid and abet DJT’s non-medical/healthcare election-year spending bailouts for the oil industry, airlines, cruise ship companies, various insurance industry sectors, and other business groups which have gotten fat the last 18 months on DJT tax expenditures and need little help.

I hope the nation is seeing first hand that Trump’s insouciance, immense vanity, across the board ignorance, failure to attend to detail which doesn’t involve himself, and naming hacks to key government posts, reflects why our nation is so woefully unprepared to protect its citizens.

(Did everyone hear those gathered sycophants shower Trump with hollow praise. when the VP’s Task Force spoke to the nation this past week, after Trump left the podium—uttering a few “excellents” and “well dones,” plus a “greatest” or two (his go-to adjectives for anything he thinks makes him look good).

For six weeks, the President has been downplaying and pooh-poohing CVD-19 and labeling it a “Chinese” or a “foreign” virus.
I want to shout, "Way to go, Brownie."

For the good of our nation and its future, Donald John Trump needs to be voted out after November’s election.

Back to my GSE legal guesswork

The Supreme Court had its first taste of GSE matters, in a one-off manner, when it heard matters in the “Selia” case which challenges the structural constitutionality of the Consumer Finance Protection Board (CFPB).

Readers of this screed know the structural similarity between CFPB and FHFA and hope a Selia win for plaintiffs will set precedent for a similar decision for those challenging the FHFA unique leadership and GSE policies.

Here’s another instance where I hope I am wrong and that “NAFL” means I’ve missed—badly—my inclination.

But, it is Fannie and Freddie and their curse. It also is possible, a decision which could place the federal government in a position of shelling out $100 Billion plus to some GSE fans/plaintiffs.

I say the SCOTUS balks and middles the matters, finding for the government or issues a hybrid decision, which allows Treasury to skate and both agencies fixed by a simple statutory adjustment, subjecting both the head of CFPB and FHFA executives to easier be presidential dismissal.

IMO, the SCOTUS is aware how much red ink is flowing out of Treasury these days and won’t dent Uncle Sam for another $100 Billion (plus?) financial sanction, especially with more Trump deficit spending pending, owing to managing he CVD-19 epidemic.

I hope the nation is seeing first hand that Trump’s insouciance, immense vanity, across the board ignorance, failure to attend to detail which doesn’t involve himself, and naming hacks to key government posts, reflects why our nation is so woefully unprepared to protect its citizens.

For six weeks, the President has been downplaying and pooh-poohing CVD-19 and labeling it a “Chinese” or a “foreign” virus, with his best xenophobia.

For the good of our nation and its future, Donald John Trump needs to go, voted out of after November’s election.

Maloni

3-12-2020