ONE MORE BIG WIN FOR THE NATION’S HOUSING POLICY

More than a third of TARP-subsidized loan modifications have defaulted, reports the program’s inspector general. So: the borrower has bled more cash than he otherwise would have had he simply defaulted earlier, he remains stuck in his house and so can’t move to a different city with perhaps better jobs outlook, and the taxpayer is out (so far) by around $8 billion. That’s some trifecta. . . .