Here is a letter apparently sent by the House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services in response to a letter a private citizen (William Frey, President of Greenwich Financial Services) sent to the New York Times. The committee, which consists of Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Luis Gutierrez, Paul Kanjorski, Carolyn Maloney, and Melvin Watt was "outraged to read in today's New York Times that you are actively opposing our efforts to achieve a diminution in foreclosures by voluntary efforts. Your decision is a serious threat to our efforts to respond to the current economic crisis and we strongly urge you to reverse it."
Read the whole thing. Here is a little more background. Here is James Hanley with a take.
As Mr. Hanley notes, Mr. Frey is not a sympathetic character. But whether he's sympathetic or not is irrelevant. The point is that his has a legal claim to assets and wants to have those claims enforced in the courts (not to mention that he also has the right to speak against the government's actions).
The arrogance and the hubris of politicians never ceases to amaze me, especially when it comes to meddling in the economy. What makes Mr. Frank et al so smart? What makes them think that they know what's best for the other 304,000,000 who live in this country? And even if they are the smartest people in the room at all times, why should we believe that they are incorruptible?