Hahahahahahahaha!

Well you have to laugh. Without a trace of irony the Gray Lady reports that Ben Bernanke & Co. are to “issue new lending rules next week to restrict exotic mortgages and high-cost loans for people with weak credit.”

Now that’s timing for you. Billions of dollars wiped off the face of the planet after an orgy of irresponsible lending sanctioned by the Fed and now they want to tighten up the rules! Hahahahahaha! Priceless!

Maybe The New York Times has never heard the one about the stable door and the horse bolting. This is as close as the paper gets to questioning the Fed’s timing: “The proposals were made after the Fed came under criticism for being captive to the lending industry and had failed over many years to supervise it adequately.”

Captive to the lending industry. How about crumbling under pressue from lobbyists?

When the Fed made proposals last December to overhaul its rules for lenders – which included the outlandish suggestion that lenders would be required to show that customers could realistically afford their mortgages – three of the lending industry’s pressure groups – the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association and the Independent Community Bankers of America – filed letters criticizing the proposals.

Of course, some even go so far as to say (gasp!) that the Fed exists to protect te financial sector from ruin brought on by its own greed.

According to Dave Gonigam, there’s “the tacit understanding within Washington that finance is the one sector of the economy that will never be allowed to implode.” It’s well worth reading.