Email Campaigns

This is an interesting email I copied and pasted:

Franklin Rains is the former chairman and chief executive officer
> of Fannie Mae, the government sponsored enterprise started in 1939
> to offer mortgages to Americans wishing to become home owners.
> After serving as budget director under President Bill Clinton, Mr.
> Raines served as CEO at Fannie Mae from 2000 until 2004. While Mr.
> Raines was CEO, Fannie Mae went deep into the practice of buying
> mortgages based on almost no or no money down given to borrowers
> who could not afford them. During this time he received bonuses
> and salary over 90 million dollars.
>
> In 2004 he was offered “early retirement” after the accounting
> practices used at Fannie during his tenure to secure top executive
> bonuses were shown to be fraudulent.
>
> Civil charges were filed against Raines and two other former
> executives which sought $110 million in penalties and $115 million
> in returned bonuses from the three accused.
>
> On April 18, 2008, the government announced a settlement with
> Raines together with J. Timothy Howard, Fannie’s former chief
> financial officer, and Leanne G. Spencer, Fannie’s former controller.
>
> The three executives agreed to pay fines totaling about $3 million,
> which will be paid by Fannie’s insurance policies.
>
> When pressed by the Bush administration to tighten down regulations
> on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, members of congress – Republicans
> and Democrats alike – in positions to pass such regulations, did
> nothing. Today, Fannie Mae owns or guarantees over half of
> America’s 12 trillion dollar mortgage market, and we are in the
> middle of a credit crunch and housing slump brought on in large
> part by government backed Fannie Mae going down this dangerous
> credit slope under Mr. Raines.
>
> And where is Franklin Raines today? He is a chief economic advisor
> to the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama.
>