Why Canada Avoided a Mortgage Meltdown
From my AEI colleague Alex Pollock writing in yesterday's WSJ about America's "homeownership mantra," and how government intervention and public policy contributed to our housing troubles and mortgage meltdown, and why Canada was able to avoid both and achieve a higher rate of homeownership in the process:
"Suppose we agree that we would like our society to have widespread home ownership and a property-owning citizenry. Does it take government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with implied taxpayer guarantees, tax advantages for the interest paid on home mortgages, and government pressure for "creative" mortgage lending to achieve this?
The Canadian experience shows that it doesn't."
See my related article "Due North: Canada’s Marvelous Mortgage and Banking System."
