While the United states Armed Forces (private mercenaries) are stationed at 737 bases, in 130 nations around the world, defending “all freedom-loving people everywhere in the world,” Edward J. Pinto, a real estate financial services consultant and former Chief Credit Officer of the Federal National Mortgage Association (a.k.a. Fannie Mae) reports to the house subcommittee on housing and community opportunity that five percent of Federal Housing Administration insured mortgages are in foreclosure —  double that of five years ago.  Despite the fact that FHA has a 30,000,000,000 “dollar” reserve fund to cover its 725,000,000,000 “dollars” in mortgages, the agency will probably require a 54,000,000,000 “dollar” Federal “bailout in the next 24 to 36 months.”

       Just two days before, David H. Stevens, Commissioner of the FHA Commissioner, wrote in a letter to the editor of the Wall Street Journal claiming that “[T]he impression that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is on the brink of disaster. … is just plain wrong.”  Yet by his agency’s own data, the amount of FHA mortgages in default was up 76 percent over the previous year, from 232,864 to 410,916.

       [added 1/8/2022] Thanks to Freedom’s Phoenix for this entry.

Subsequent Events:

10/12/2009                   10/22/2009                   12/1/2009                  3/23/2010

References:

FHA Shortfall Seen at $54 Billion May Lead to Bailout (Update2)
www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206/01087&sid=akid0YM8dlH0\

Letters to the Editor – The FHA Is Fine and Won’t Need Taxpayer Money – WSJ.com
online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870447150457444796/154156/136/6.html

Corruption: FHA Is Dying, Will Anyone Stop It? – Market-Ticker
market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1498-Corruption-FHA-Is-Dying,-Will-Anyone-Stop-It.html

F.H.A. Problems Raising Concern of Policy Makers – NYTimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/business/09fha.html?_r=2

Current U.s. National Debt:

$36,167,124,467,492

Source