What to do with Fannie and Freddie

While President Bush and Congress are debating a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (properly the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, which for obvious reasons, names no one ever uses) with a cost one analysis estimates at up to $1 trillion, others are discussion real reform of the institutions.

• The Heritage Foundation's David John's calls for a breakup of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• Sen. Jim Demint calls for an end to lobbying by the public-institutions, given their longstanding political connections.
• Gerald O'Driscoll calls for a gradual privatizion of the entities (selling off their assests) in the Wall Street Journal.
• And the Cato Institute has a couple of podcasts - "Shrink, Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac" and "How Fannie and Freddie Got Big" - along with a 2004 publication calling for true privatization.