"A s recently as 1980, govern-ment-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac held, guaranteed, or securitized fewer than 10 percent of U.S. mortgages or less than $100 billion. Today, it's $4.7 trillion. Add Ginnie Mae's mortgage guarantees, and the number exceeds $6 trillion. Since 2008, these agencies have been involved in more than 95 percent of all new mortgages. This massive exposure has been justified by cliches: Housing should be affordable; ownership creates financial independence; government programs sustain the economy by increasing ownership. But did own-ershiD increase?
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