Paul Krugman on the impact of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the financial crisis

And now we’ve reached the next stage of our seemingly never-ending financial crisis. This time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in the headlines, with dire warnings of imminent collapse. How worried should we be?

Well, I’m going to take a contrarian position: the storm over these particular lenders is overblown. Fannie and Freddie probably will need a government rescue. But since it’s already clear that that rescue will take place, their problems won’t take down the economy.

~ Paul Krugman, "Fannie, Freddie and You," The New York Times, July 14, 2008