The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

With all the recent scandal surrounding Fannie and Freddie, it's sort of fun to go back in time and read about the events leading up to the current meltdown.
In a September 1999 article for the New York Times (Fannie Mae Eases Credit To Aid Mortgage Lending), columnist Steven A. Holmes praises the efforts of Fannie Mae in its relative success at allowing traditionally unqualified borrowers to receive very low interest mortgages. Yet even through the relatively economically prosperous times of the late 90s, Holmes acknowledges that, in the event of an economic downturn, there may be dire consequences to this risky behavior.

Apparently Holmes never learned about business cycles.