Government should provide direct low interest financing to homeowners who have maintained their mortgage payments.

22.5% of American homes, some 10.9 million, are underwater - www.corelogic.com/about-us/researchtrends/asset_upload_file831_12143.pdf Many of these homes are underwater because banks recklessly made loans to unqualified buyers. The ensuing foreclosures caused housing values of people who made responsible down payments and their mortgage payments to plummet. Now the banks include the price of foreclosed properties in appraising homes making it impossible to qualify for refinancing. If only half of 10.9 million homes saved just $200 per month from refinancing, $13 billion per year would be freed up to put back into the economy. The government would be repaid with interest, and lower interest payments would reduce the total mortgage interest deduction thereby helping reduce the deficit.