Federal Take-Over of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

Led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the Bush Administration seized control of the country's two largest mortgage finance companies yesterday. In his announcement of the takeover, Secretary Paulson said, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so large and so interwoven in our financial system that a failure of either of them would cause great turmoil...at home and around the globe." Will the Paulson plan work? How will it affect consumers? What will it mean to the housing market? How much will it cost taxpayers?