The government is set to bailout thousands of consumers who got into mortgages that they are no longer able to pay. When the bill that is being debated in the House and Senate was first introduced the millions of dollars of incentives were expected to be enough. Since then the number of homes in trouble has almost double and is expected to rise even farther before the first of next year. In other words the help will not be enough.



Basically what the government wants to do is offer government backed refinancing to the struggling borrowers. Lenders that participate will have to drop the debt to just 85% of the current value of the home. Borrowers will have to pay an insurance premium and have to share with any proceeds (with the government) from selling or refinancing that comes from the rise in value of the home.

While it is nice that the government is eager to help all of the people that took out risky loans that they couldn't afford and even the lenders that speculated in loans that didn't work out to their benefit, my question is what about the rest of us? Those of us in a mortgage that we are paying regularly (despite tightening budgets) get to pay for the others that are not paying.

The money would be better spent offering debt counseling to the borrowers. Subsidize private counselors so that consumers can learn how to manage their money and maybe even dig themselves out of the debt they have created.

The motive behind the measure is hopefully a good one, but the idea is just a little off base. Saving borrowers and lenders without fixing the problem will only hold off the disaster for a limited time. ?Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime.?