Description: Author’s response to discussant comments for the 2009 Housing Wealth monograph paper, “Modigliani, Miller and Mortgages.” The paper is essentially about the genesis of the credit crisis. The discussant found the paper makes some interesting points but leaves too much out of the story. The author reiterates his point that mortgage based derivatives often subtract value and that the Federal Government accommodated that at great expense to the nation's wealth and economic well-being.

Description: This paper asks the Modligliani-Miller question regarding the mortgage markets. The paper is essentially about the genesis of the credit crisis. The proposed answer is that the practice of risk should not be allowed without actuarial supervision.