"The numbers are going to get very large," says Raphael Bostic, a professor of economics at the University of Southern California. "I don't think this is a feasible plan."
A historic rise in delinquency rates among borrowers with low credit ratings has raised concerns that a record number of Americans in the next few years will be unable to pay their mortgage. Many of those borrowers were put into loans with low teaser rates that are now adjusting upward, sometimes doubling their monthly mortgage payment.
Consumer advocate groups say those loans, with steeply rising payments, were pushed on borrowers who didn't understand the terms. Advocates say a government bailout, even a large one, is appropriate because regulators didn't do enough to stop predatory lending, and because of the high cost of foreclosures.