[Codayus]

This is completely wrong. Credit standards not only dropped dramatically at Freddie/Fannie, but they drove the decline elsewhere. Causality is clear: Private banks issued loans that they knew that Freddie/Fannie would securitized; as the government agencies decided they'd buy crap, the private banks provided it. (For crying out loud, the government agencies CREATED the subprime market.)

In actuality, about half the bubble has been directly traced to the lowering of underwriting standards by Fannie/Freddie, which in turn was directly caused by....a desire to provide home ownership for the poor.