Banning Bottled Water, Disaster Insurance and the Mortgage Meltdown
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country.
Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall of up to $15 billion.
Troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discontinue their multi-million dollar lobbying efforts.
More headlines: listen to the LibertyWeek podcast.
1. ENVIRONMENT
The U.S. Conference of Mayors votes to endorse banning the sale of bottled water across the country.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Risk & Environmental Policy Angela Logomasini reacts to the bans:
“This is just another example of government regulators eroding our freedom. If they succeed in banning and taxing water, what will they go after next?”
2. INSURANCE
Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund could face a shortfall of up to $15 billion.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on the financial future of the state of Florida:
“One simple fact ought to dominate every discussion of Florida’s homeowners’ insurance system: Were a single storm to hit the wrong area, it would literally bankrupt the state. Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature, quite simply, have risked Florida’s fiscal future in order to subsidize insurance rates for people living in coastal areas.”
3. BUSINESS
Troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac discontinue their multi-million dollar lobbying efforts.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Iain Murray on the problem with government-backed mortgages:
“Our central critique of Fannie and Freddie is that they were the main vehicles of a government policy that severely distorted market allocations and perhaps even caused the resulting housing price bubble. Their size was a factor in this – if they had been smaller, perhaps the distortion would have been smaller – but it was their very existence that was most important. Coupled with the loose monetary policy of the Fed going back to 1995 (which is probably even more important), government signals that the market picked up on were the main reasons behind this massive misallocation problem.”
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