This is not all about helping the borrowers, it is about bailing out the lenders. The lenders in essence "bought" the homes of homeowners at prices way beyond their value and paid them tax free cash. The homeowners in essence "sold" their homes to lenders way over the homes value. It is the lenders who are stuck with the homes while the borrower has the option to walk away or renegotiate. Once the homeowner realizes he has the lender over a barrel, he can get tough with the lender. What are all these lenders going to do with all these overpriced homes they paid cash for?