My New Blog

YES!

Some say the large-scale government intervention to remedy the bad investment decisions made by individuals is a bad idea, but the prospect of a million-mortgage meltdown with far-reaching effects on the U.S. and world economies makes others feel these actions are justifiable.

The deal worked out between the Bush administration and leading mortgage lenders appears to be appropriately limited in scope and duration.

Banking regulators, the mortgage industry and consumer advocates agreed that something had to be done. Foreclosures already are at a record high, and as many as 2 million subprime mortgages are scheduled to reset from the low introductory interest rates at which they were marketed to higher rates that would put house payments beyond the reach of many foolish or duped borrowers.

The plan doesn’t put taxpayers on the hook with a bailout that the nation can’t afford. By limiting the freeze to those mortgages that are not delinquent, it avoids rewarding borrowers and lenders who struck deals that were unsustainable from the start.