Resident Fellow Alex J. Pollock

Recent issues of American Banker have featured two remarkable quotes:

1. "Mr. Mudd argued that diverting private profits for a public program is 'upside down.'" ["Fannie CEO Details Issues with GSE Bill," June 5, page 1] So right side up would obviously be diverting public programs to private profits. That should sound familiar: It's the essence of a GSE.

2. "The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will launch a campaign next week to educate consumers about the safety of their deposits." ["FDIC Campaign to Tout Deposit Safety," June 10, back page] Could there be a clearer signal of the continuing real estate credit bust? It recalls an effort by the former FSLIC to promote "Public Confidence" in savings and loan deposits in the 1980s. Is the right public policy goal really zero market discipline at the depositor level?

Alex J. Pollock is a resident fellow at AEI.