In his memoirs, published in 2014, former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner observed:

“Eventually, Congress will have to make some tough choices about the mortgage market—not just how to reduce the government’s dominant role, but how to balance the trade-off between safety and accessibility.”
a. In what sense does the government have a dominant role in the mortgage market?
b. What steps would need to be taken to reduce the government’s role in the mortgage market? As of 2016, the federal government had taken no steps to reduce its role in the mortgage market. Why has moving away from the current system proven to be difficult politically?
c. What is the trade-off between safety and accessibility with respect to home mortgages? How does the government’s role in the mortgage market affect that trade-off?