...In this issue we try to provide some thoughtful perspective on this unique moment in the history of American mortgage finance. And who better to provide genuine perspective than a historian? So we turned to an expert on the history of real estate finance in the United States-Professor Richard K. Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate in USC's Marshall School of Business. His article, "How Did We Get Here?" offers a look back at the very beginnings of our system of mortgage finance starting with the Great Depression. It provides a glimmer of hope that sometimes out of great crisis can come good government and solid public policy that stands the test of time. Let's hope that's what we get-once all the dust has settled...
