Email | Print    Type Size  -  +  How to fix the housing mess
The government has been trying to stabilize the housing market
for over a year with no luck. Here are three fresh ideas from
the private sector that just might work.  By Colin Barr, senior
writer December 11, 2008: 12:19 PM ET  Should the Senate pass
the auto bailout bill?   • Yes   • No Mortgage Rates 30 yr fixed
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YORK (Fortune) -- What can the government do stabilize the
housing market?  Policymakers have been searching for an answer
to that question for the past year as the tally of home
foreclosures continues to surge and home prices continue to
plunge.  So far, the Troubled Asset Recovery Program has been a
disappointment, focusing more on shoring up the banking system
than on addressing the problems of homeowners. While Federal
Deposit Insurance Corp. chief Sheila Bair has been an outspoken
advocate of mortgage modificatio