Mortgage Malaise

In an effort to stem the deepening housing crisis, six of the country’s top mortgage lenders announced last week that they would allow borrowers to delay payment on all types of mortgages, not merely subprime ones. The plan is supported by the U.S. Treasury Department—but should the government be doing more? According to a recent WSJ.com/Harris Interactive poll, a strong plurality (42 percent) of Americans do not think “the government should provide financial help to borrowers who can no longer afford to pay their mortgages to keep them out of foreclosure.” Only 25 percent said the government should. Source: WSJ.com/Harris Interactive online poll, December 2007.