Triage

There have been some complaints that the Obama foreclosure plan does not help those that need it most. Without judging the plan as a whole this particular complaint is silly. It is standard triage methodology to first help those for which a small amount of help will make the difference between living and dying or in this case between keeping and losing your house. It is better to use a million dollars to save 20 homes from foreclosure by giving $50000 worth of relief to 20 people than to save 1 home by giving $1000000 worth of relief to one person.

A more legitimate criticism is that the plan should not just attempt to prevent foreclosures but should also try to reduce the harm caused by the large number of foreclosures which will remain inevitable. Perhaps by providing incentives to get the houses rented or resold quickly.