By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! NewsWhite House Correspondent The president railed against massive government bailouts like those of Fannie and Freddie, which reaped vast profits in the housing boom — then got taxpayer rescue packages when the bubble burst in 2008. “We can’t leave taxpayers on the hook for irresponsibility or bad decisions by some of these lenders or Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac,” he said. “We’ve got to encourage the pursuit of profit — but the era of expecting a bailout after you pursue your profit and you don’t manage your risk well, well that puts the whole country at risk. And we’re ending those days. We’re not going to do that anymore.” As he started his remarks, someone in the crowd at Desert Vista High School shouted out “happy birthday, Mr. President!” and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to him. Obama, whose birthday was Aug. 4, noted that he was now 52, but “Michelle says I don’t look a day over 51.”The school is in Phoenix, Ariz., which was particularly hard hit when the housing bubble burst. Obama noted that "the storm hit harder here" as the crisis ripped through the nation's economy. In recent weeks, the White House has cautiously welcomed news that the housing sector is on the mend. There have been hopeful signs in Arizona, though there's a long road ahead.On Wednesday, Obama is to take part in a roundtable with Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff, with questions coming from across social media. To ask questions for the roundtable, which will stream live on Yahoo, visit our Homes section here.The Signal is the Yahoo! News predictions blog featuring real-time forecasts and sentiment on politics, economics, and more. MEET THE TEAM: David Pennock, David RothschildRoll over each section to subscribe using Add to My Yahoo! or RSS Feed feeds.Become a fan of our G+ page for the most intriguing stories of the day. … More »Are you on Facebook? Join our page for top stories! … More »The official account of Yahoo! News. 100% feed-free tweets by news fans for news fans! … More »
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-to-urge-greater-private-capital-role-in-mortgage-markets-185037682.html;_ylt=A2KJ2Pby.AFSll8A2GnQtDMD
