This is exactly what happens when the Government gets involved with something: lack of oversight, hypocrisy, abuse, and corruption.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Fannie Mae is planning to pay retention bonuses of as much as $611,000 each to several top executives of the government-controlled mortgage finance titan. Sibling company Freddie Mac is planning similar awards.

Fannie Mae disclosed in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s planning bonuses of $470,000 to $611,000 for four top executives, on top of their base salaries this year.

Freddie Mac has a similar retention plan in place, but has yet to disclose how much money top executives are in line to receive.

Both companies were seized by federal regulators last fall. Fannie has requested $15.2 billion in government aid, while Freddie has asked for nearly $31 billion in additional aid on top of the $13.8 billion it received last year.

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As is now to be expected from Government thugs, James Lockhart, the director for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who was nominated by President Bush to that position and confirmed by the Senate in June 2006, sees nothing wrong with this and defends the bonus plan.

The Government should stay out of business.  The good companies would succeed, and horrible companies would fail.