Quest for a foreclosure fix

The 10/18/2010 Christian Science Monitor's article, "Quest for a foreclosure fix," listed three options.

"1. Create an all-out refinancing effort.

One approach, advocated by economists Glenn Hubbard and chris Mayer, would be to offer a simple refinance for most US borrowers at today's ultralow mortgage rate (just over 4 percent). ...Under this approach, the low fixed rate would be available to anyone with a loan backed by Fannie Mae, Freddi Mac, or the Federal Housing Administration.
The result would put cash in the pockets of millions of borrowers--quickly and for years to come. That could boost consumer spending and reduce the likelihood of default."

We wrote Chris and said, "skip the refinance, just drop the rate." He wrote back, "Thanks for your note. Unfortunately, Fannie and Freddie have to do a formal refinance in order to reduce payments. I am hopeful we will see some progress."

Thank you for writing back. We can put a man on the moon, but we can't just drop the mortgage rate without the childish hazing called refinance.

Over 30% of the homes in California and over 20% of the homes in Georgia are underwater. The banks get bailed out, but they continue to lean on the home owner (with the regulators cheering them on). At some point borrowers are going to get a bit churlish. Just drop the rates! The time is now. The action is simple.