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Fannie Mae and the FDNY

To the Editor:

Our nation, and much of the world, now faces a crippling financial crisis that will undoubtedly cause much pain before it's over. We know the genesis of this crisis was the subprime mortgage mess, but many are asking how this could have been allowed to happen in the first place. The answer is simple — it happened because the Federal Government pressured institutions to lower standards so as to benefit certain groups of people.

Now if that sounds vaguely familiar to readers of this space, it should, as there is a direct analogy to an issue I have often highlighted, and here it is: the Federal Government is presently pressuring the FDNY to lower standards to benefit certain groups of people.

Were I an optimist, I would believe that now that this striking similarity has been pointed out, the Justice Department would fold its tent and go away before inflicting yet more pain, this time concentrated on New York City firefighters and residents. I am not an optimist.

The subprime mortgage mess was predicted and could have been avoided. In fact, there was a 2004 congressional hearing focusing on the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac during which the problems we all face today were identified but attempts to rein in the incompetence and abuses were thwarted. In one instance, a tactic very familiar to this writer was used.

African-American Representative Lacy Clay (D-Missouri) called criticism of African-American Franklin Raines, then the CEO of Fannie Mae, a "political lynching." When one black person uses such politically charged language in defending another, the message is clear: oppose us and we will accuse you of the worst kind of racism.

The mess that the FDNY will find itself in if Justice is successful in its lawsuit is also being predicted (and not just by me). I am not only philosophically opposed to granting groups more than equal opportunity, I also have personal experience with the problems that quotas cause, as I suffered through the mess created in the 1980s when NYPD Sergeants were promoted using a quota system. Playing the race card was no doubt helpful in preventing abuses at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from being identified and eliminated. It will not (as should be clear by now) prevent me from opposing the continued erosion of standards in the FDNY.

John McCain's slogan is "Country First," and I would urge those FDNY groups who agitate for hiring (and eventually promotion) based on race or gender to adopt the slogan "FDNY First." But again, I'm not an optimist.

PAUL D. MANNIX, Deputy Chief, FDNY