For the Americans who have already received a foreclosure notice, and the millions of additional families who are struggling to make their mortgage payments and save their home from foreclosure, the announcement of President Barack Obama’s foreclosure mitigation plan today will either go down in history as the first step in the solution to the housing crisis in the United States, or one more ineffective policy announcement from a federal government which can’t seem to stop foreclosure and arrest declining property values.

Less than a month into his presidency, Obama has been busy. He’s already signed a $787 billion economic stimulus package and set forth his plan for financial stability in the nation’s banking institutions. But the announcement of his housing solution today shows that he understands that he doesn’t have the time to celebrate his victories. The nation is facing rapidly increasing unemployment, a growing national budget deficit, trouble among America’s banks, a bankrupt auto industry, and declining real estate prices.

Loyal readers may have noticed that I haven’t yet done my review of government and lender mortgage modification programs.  It’s not that I haven’t been thinking of issues related to foreclosures.  It’s simply that I’ve been too busy to sit down and put the work into the post that the topic deserves.  I hope to [...]