An expose of bad businesses and their unethical practices

Several columns on the mortgage and foreclosure crisis have appeared in this space recently. Perhaps they have not gone far enough in excoriating the Bad Business perpetrated by some mortgage lenders and any number of government officials that should have been providing oversight but did not. I ran across an article this morning which underlines these issues.

There is much evidence that some government officials have been warning about problems with certain mortgage lending practices since the year 2000. One such official was Edward Gramlich, a Federal Reserve Governor. When he made his warning seven years ago, he was rebuffed by none other than the revered Alan Greenspan. You will note that Mr. Greenspan is now suggesting that the government provide money to pay the mortgages of many who are caught in the crunch.

Gramlich was not alone in this. A number of other government officials and employees have come forth to say that they provided warnings years ago, but that their superiors quashed those warnings. If this does not qualify as governmental Bad Business, it is difficult to think of a situation that does.