April 9, 2008 (LPAC)--The foolish plans being pushed on behalf of the bankers by House banking committee chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) to convert bad private-sector mortgage debt into government-guaranteed debt using the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has hit an embarrassing snag: the FHA is already broke! Outgoing HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson told the Senate recently that the FHA was "on the brink of insolvency" and would need a taxpayer subsidy of at least $1.4 billion in the next fiscal year, a first in the 75-year history of this venerable FDR-created program. The other leg of Barney Bailout's scheme, having Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy bad mortgages, went into the toilet when the two quasi-government companies reported big losses for the fourth quarter. Every scheme Barney has suggested to address the "housing crisis" has failed, because it is a banking crisis, and always has been. How are you going to solve it if you can't even admit it, Barney?