Meet your new landlord, Uncle Sam
The Obama administration has been trying all sorts of things to try and stem the foreclosure problem in America and what is generally being called a "trial balloon" was just floated and reported by Reuters.
U.S. government officials are weighing a plan that would let borrowers who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments avoid eviction by renting their homes instead, sources familiar with the administration's thinking said on Tuesday.
Under one idea being discussed, delinquent homeowners would surrender ownership of their homes but would continue to live in the property for several years, the sources told Reuters.
Officials are also considering whether the government should make mortgage payments on behalf of borrowers who cannot keep up with their home loans, tapping an unused portion of a $50 billion housing aid kitty.
As part of this plan, jobless borrowers might receive a housing stipend along with regular unemployment benefits, the sources said.
As I wrote over a year ago, maybe a solution to the economic crisis would have been for the government to simply pay everyone's mortgage off. It would have eliminated the need to bail out the financial industry, reduced personal debt, put instant money into everyone's pocket and the economy may never have gone into a recession in the first place.
Fair? Absolutely not. Ridiculous? Maybe not.
Considering how much has been spent getting minimal results thus far, as ridiculous as it may sound, it seems like a reasonable alternative to consider.
It's certainly no more ridiculous than this latest proposal.