Every day on the news in recent months there have been stories about the plight of the distressed home owner who has been unable to pay his mortgage and is forced into foreclosure. It’s portrayed as grim and ripe for government action – whether it is regulation or even government handouts.

“Now we switch to the housing market and the U.S. economy and this is a big story,” said NBC “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams on August 23. “Listen to this number on mortgage foreclosures in this country. They’re up 93 percent nationwide last month from the same period last year. This situation is dire. It’s creating a lot of anxiety about how that’s going to affect a great many homeowners and the economy as a whole.”