Getting Carried Away in Attacking Refinancing

Bethany McLean goes a bit overboard in arguing against refinancing in a NYT column this morning. She cites data showing that the vast majority of subprime loans in the bubble years were for refinancing homes rather than home purchases.

The data are misleading because many of the subprime loans were issued to be refinanced. Many of these loans carried teaser rates and were pushed with the promise that people could refinance before the teaser rate reset. Many buyers took advantage of this opti...