My colleagues and I at HSH have asked and debated over this question for most of the year: “To what cost are we willing to promote home ownership?” As close to the market as we are, we fully recognize the value of home ownership. However, our lawmakers have steadfastly promoted it above any other option despite a housing crisis and a soaring national budget. The question is: “When is enough enough?”

Washington has developed multi-billion dollar programs to modify and refinance troubled mortgages, subsidize mortgage rates, we’ve thrown massive lifelines to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a $10 billion homebuyer tax credit extension, and the list goes on.