Every bailout the government has given to the banking system has been designed to stabilize the housing and stock markets, keep access to credit open, and keep people in their homes. But despite these stated goals, all that has happened is the banks are hoarding the free money, jobs are still being lost, and homeowners are going into foreclosure in record numbers.

Banks and the government worked together to enrich themselves through the real estate boom and turn communities into dumping grounds for easy loans. Now that the bubble has burst, banks and the government have been working together to ensure that only the people in those pump-and-dump communities feel the effects of the meltdown.

But it is not just that nothing is being done to help people stay in their homes. The government has come up with numerous programs ostensibly designed to help people stop foreclosure in certain instances and help borrowers work with lenders to modify mortgages.

An even worse problem, though, is that these programs take money from everyone else through inflation to help a very, very small number of homeowners. And if the programs are ineffective (which they have been so far), they may actually cause more people to face foreclosure.

All of this inflation where the government prints money and throws it at banks will also result in higher prices down the road. The banks are hoarding the money now in order to cover future losses they know are coming from other bad investments, but eventually they will begin making poor loans again, inflating another bubble before another collapse.

One argument that has been made is that it is far too difficult to throw small amounts of money at hundreds of thousands of homeowners to stabilize the system. So the government throws large amounts of money at a few small institutions, which is supposed to help everyone by maintaining faith and support of the financial system.

The problem is, these banks, once the government bails them out, have absolutely no incentive to work very hard with homeowners to save homes from foreclosure. With essentially free money, banks can sit back and do nothing, crying for more money when more people face foreclosure.

And this is exactly what it seems the banks are doing. Create a crisis, deliberately fail to respond to the fallout, cry for a government handout, use the bailout to act even lazier, not respond to further fallout, cry for more handouts, and so on.

Also, the few government programs designed to help homeowners work with their banks put restrictions on the lenders and require them to recognize losses on delinquent loans. So obviously, the banks are very concerned about having to admit to even more losses caused by bad mortgage loans, which might drive their stock prices down.

There is no real incentive for the lenders to take losses on loans and work with borrowers to restructure defaulted mortgages. In fact, there is a much larger payoff if the banks keep the foreclosures, do nothing to respond to them, and go to the government claiming a crisis that requires enormous amounts of taxpayer money to solve.

The bailout plans (especially the most recent $700 billion one) have required nothing from the banks other than that they be in serious trouble and need money. There are no restrictions and the banks can dump these bad loans directly onto the government, instead of having to work with homeowners.

The government has given the banks an incentive to keep making bad loans and then never address the problems caused by shoddy lending guidelines. The more people they foreclose on, the more free money they can cash in on from the bailout plans. So nothing will continue to be done to help homeowners stay in their homes.

The ForeclosureFish website has been created to provide homeowners in danger of losing their houses with relevant and important mortgage help and resources. The site describes various methods that may be used to save a home, such as foreclosure refinance loans, mortgage modification, short sales, bankruptcy, and more. Visit the site to read more articles about how foreclosure works and how the process may be avoided before it is too late: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

The following are some facts and statistics about the real estate market and the government's efforts in putting together effective plans to address the foreclosure crisis. Despite the government's programs, starting in October 2007, and continuing with the latest plan released earlier this year, the foreclosure rate has kept up its dramatic increase.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, more than one in every subprime mortgage loan was in foreclosure as of the fourth quarter of 2008. This is 13.71 percent of subprime loans, compared to prime loans in foreclosure at a rate of only 1.88% as of the same time.

Furthermore, more than one third of all subprime adjustable rate loans, as of the final quarter of 2008, were in a state of serious delinquency. This is more than three times the rate of delinquency for prime adjustable rate mortgages.

Under a new incentive program, Fannie Mae has begun paying attorneys who are able to qualify delinquent borrowers for loan modifications, repayment plans, or similar workout solutions as an alternative to foreclosing.

Due to the high rate of foreclosure, most workout plans are taking at least thirty days to be processed by lenders and servicing companies. Homeowners and those working for them should be aware of this significant time lag, especially if a foreclosure sale is on the horizon. It may be best to obtain a delay of any sheriff sale in order to apply for assistance without the threat of losing the home in a short period of time.

As early as October and December 2007, the US Treasury Department was putting together plans to solve the rising foreclosure rates on an industry-wide, voluntary basis. Unfortunately, as the number of people seriously behind in their mortgages kept increasing, no more resources were dedicated to assisting these borrowers, and delays led to more foreclosures.

Thus far, there have been at least five different programs to help homeowners stop foreclosure. These have been the Making Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), Making Home Affordable Refinance Program, Hope for Homeowners (H4H), HOPE NOW also known as the American Securitization Forum Plan, and Project Lifeline. Thus far, all have failed to seriously affect the foreclosure rate.

As foreclosures keep rising, the cheap money policies of the Federal Reserve, combined with the poor to nonexistent lending standards of the banks have proven to have far more negative impacts on the economy than any bureaucrat or regulator anticipated. Unfortunately, more cheap money policies have been some of the only fixes proposed and provided by the government, which has caused further downward pressure on the economy.

Nick writes for the ForeclosureFish website, which gives homeowners the information and resources they need to avoid foreclosure by themselves and fight back against the bank's lawsuit. The site describes numerous options to save a home, including foreclosure refinancing, deed in lieu, loss mitigation, stopping a sheriff auction, bankruptcy, and more. Visit the site on the web to read more about how you can avoid losing your house, repair your credit, and establish a long term financial plan once a financial crisis is over: http://www.foreclosurefish.net/

The news that 9% of homeowners with a mortgage are either late in their monthly payments or are in foreclosure seems to have been with a resounding silence by the media and the public. This is a record number and an indication that the collapse of the housing market is just hitting its stride, rather than finding a bottom or beginning to recover. But on the scale of financial disaster, the people have apparently decided that this news does not even rate.

Maybe there is no financial disaster meter any longer in the public mind because nearly all of this type of economic collapse news is filtered through our television culture. Nine percent of homeowners in foreclosure is so out of context that it is entirely meaningless for most of the news-watching population. They are unable to appreciate what this number means, because they have nothing similar to compare it to; only further irrelevant information and more sound bites.

Foreclosure rates way up. McCain picks woman as VP. A few words from our sponsors. Local murder. Obama says something about faith. A few more words from more of our sponsors. Cubs lose. Olympics ended. A few more words from our favorite corporations. Weather will be nice tomorrow after rain tonight. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailed out. CSI coming up next. Enjoy our Thursday night entertainment lineup.

What is the connection between any of that information? And why should people care about the foreclosure rates anymore than they care about the latest Pepsi advertisement or the fact that the Olympics have ended? Most people are simply watching the news to ensure they have repeatable sound bites for work the next morning if a semi-informed discussion accidentally takes place.

In fact, the way that our news media reports information, nothing is connected to anything else. All of the stories reported on television turn into nothing more than sound bites from a continuous stream of too much data presented as news entertainment.

And no one should care about the foreclosure rates when they are being sold cars with 0% financing every few minutes. Financial Armageddon is bad, but if it is presented as entertainment and punctuated with psychologically rewarding commercials, then it is meaningless at best and actually encouraging at worst.

In fact, the very medium of television is so insulting to the intelligence of the average human being that people simply lower themselves down to the level of the medium and discount any attempts at critical thinking or analysis. If every few sentences, I inserted a few kind words about Gateway Computers or Amazon.com, most people would stop reading, believing me to be hopelessly distracted or even schizophrenic. But this is exactly how television makes all news irrelevant.

People's ability to detect the collapse of our economy and financial system has been so deadened by years of having their intelligence lowered to the level of television that they probably will not care even if the system does collapse. As long as the Machine that delivers their ideas and entertainment does not stop, they will keep trusting in their unconnected distractions.

To find out more about the foreclosure process, visit the My Foreclosure Lender website, which provides services to borrowers trying to save their homes. Foreclosure loan and mortgage modification assistance can be found, as well as information on stopping a foreclosure before the sheriff sale. You can find the site on the web at the following: http://www.myforeclosurelender.com/

For the last few years, cleaning businesses have dominated the list of best small business opportunities for those looking to become self employed. Below is a host of reasons why. But first, let's get to some hard and fast numbers about why foreclosure cleaning is a smart business choice -- no matter what the economy is doing.

More Foreclosures Coming in 2010; Maybe Even Topping 2009 Numbers

The foreclosure crisis started in the fall of 2007. It was largely driven by subprime mortgages, ie, mortgages given to those with marginal credit who started to default on those loans.

Fast forward to 2009. Now, home foreclosures are largely driven by a loss of jobs. Currently, unemployment in America stands at 10.2 percent. This is the most widespread it's been for 26 years. This means homeowners who had no part in the subprime mortgage mess are starting to lose their homes.

Proof?

A Nov 19, 2009 article in the LA Times, Mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures, hit a new high states:

"One in seven U.S. home loans were past due or in foreclosure during the third quarter [2009], the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said... Consistent with recent quarterly delinquency surveys from the trade group, today's report blamed job losses, not tricky adjustable-rate loans, for causing most of the pain."

In a separate article on the same day, Foreclosures hitting more people with prime loans, the paper noted:

"About 4 million homeowners were either in foreclosure or at least three months behind on their mortgage payments as of September [2009], according to the mortgage bankers group."

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, foreclosures are likely to surge right on through the end of next year. And it makes sense. Until the economy starts to: (i) stop bleeding jobs; (ii) create new jobs; and (iii) more Americans dig out of debit, this crisis will be with us, unfortunately, for some times to come.

And, this means opportunity for those who've always dreamed of owning a business.

Why Foreclosure Clean Up Is a Smart Small Business Choice No Matter What the Economy Is Doing

Four of the Top 10 Fastest Growing franchise opportunities in 2009 were some type of cleaning company. This is according to a leading online site for entrepreneurs. These companies occupied the number 1, 4, 8 and 10 spots. They are:

1. Jan-Pro Franchising International: Commercial Cleaning Company;

4. Stratus Building Solutions: Commercial cleaning;

8. Bonus Building Care: Commercial cleaning; and

10. Vanguard Cleaning Systems: Commercial cleaning.

FYI, the No. 11 spot was occupied by yet another cleaning company -- Jani-King, which is a

commercial cleaning enterprise.

Why Foreclosure Cleanup Will Always Be Profitable

Even when the economy turns around --- and it will because that is the American way foreclosure cleaning will still be a smart business to start; and the reason why is quite simple...

As long as real estate is bought and sold, it will need to be cleaned out, painted, boarded up and/or maintained.

Remember, "foreclosure cleaning" is just a real estate services business. When the economy turns around, all you have to do is market your services -- the same services you already offer -- differently. Ready to explore this lucrative business opportunity?

May be reprinted with the following, in full: To learn more about how to start a foreclosure cleanup business, log on to ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. You'll also find in-depth info on the latest home foreclosure news, eg, the #1 secret your lender won't tell you that can stop foreclosure, how to work out a forbearance agreement, the timeline for foreclosure in all 50 states, educational videos about the foreclosure process, how to start a foreclosure cleanup business -- and a whole lot more. Foreclosure Business News: The source for foreclosure news the average homeowner can use!

The media, politicians, and armchair real estate professionals seem to have begun making a part time job of analyzing what should be done to solve the foreclosure crisis. The debates so far, however, have been somewhat limited to the possibility of the government stepping in and providing relief to homeowners, or doing nothing and allowing home prices to crash. Instead of expecting more from the government, it would make far more sense for the bureaucrats to scale back many of their activities in all aspects of the average person's life.

One simple proposal may just be getting rid of the personal income tax altogether. While no one would mourn the loss of the IRS, those who fear that all federal government services would dry up should realize that the government could be the size it was in 1997 if the income tax were eliminated. Also, even though many people never pay anything to the IRS and simply receive a refund every year, it would be much better for those people to have that money in their pockets all year to help pay for mortgages, transportation, or food. Giving an interest-free loan to the government all year when one is unable to pay back their own loans makes little sound financial sense.

Politicians should also stay out of the housing crisis altogether, as this is not a problem that we can legislate our way out of. The Orwellian named Foreclosure Prevention Act was a complete joke and illustrative of the impossibility of just creating more laws and acts to solve market problems, designed to take more tax money from homeowners in order to hand out tax breaks to home builders, banks, automobile companies, and the airline industry. Leave it up to the elected lawyers to redefine the phrase "foreclosure relief" to mean "foreclosure victims relieving corporations of their tax burdens."

As well, unless the Iraq War and our other overseas commitments are scaled back enormously, the perpetual borrowing and inflating needed to sustain the perpetual war industry will bankrupt the country. Spending over a trillion dollars every year on military bases, covert operations, no-bid weapons contracts for projects that are never completed, and subsidies for defense contractors creates an unsustainable drain on the productive capacity of society. There are many more goods and services that people want when they are at peace than when their efforts must be spent on repairing destruction.

A final idea would be for the federal government to begin to transition towards real, sound money, based on gold or silver or some basket of commodities. While it is unlikely that this will happen without a large-scale economic meltdown and reorganization, private citizens can invest in gold and silver coins on their own. Local governments, too, may wish to look into instituting their own local currencies, to put more direct control of the money supply back into the hands of people and communities. This would also strengthen towns and counties that have been hit hardest by lack of money or disappearing production and jobs.

Simply handing over one's tax dollars and then demanding a "solution" to the housing crisis from Congress is a sure way to an even deeper economic recession. As evidenced by the "Foreclosure Relief Act," it is clear that politicians spend more time thinking of how to trick the people into supporting more corporate welfare than actually addressing how to help homeowners stop foreclosure. Unfortunately, it may be that the country itself will face bankruptcy very shortly and the dollar will face a total collapse; therefore, the most effective solutions will be found with private citizens and in local communities, rather than the bureaucrats in Washington.

The latest, most up-to-date foreclosure information and resources can be found by visiting the ForeclosureFish website. Hundreds of pages of news and analysis, foreclosure legal information, and general advice is available to homeowners in danger of losing their homes. Visit today to download an e-book that describes how foreclosure works and the most effective methods to stop it: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

Although foreclosure papers are filing up and increasing every year, coming up with qualified loss mitigation leads is a difficult thing to achieve these days. Many mitigation specialists are getting poor loan modification leads, low conversation rates.

Leads through the internet

Homeowners seek help in the internet for websites that can help them avoid foreclosure. A page specially made for them is offered where they can provide information about their mortgages. The company will then provide more information about their service to the homeowner. This is so far the best tactics used on the internet but not the best way to get prospects that can be easily converted. Generating leads from the filled-up forms is the easiest but provides the lowest outcome.

Leads through telemarketing

Telemarketing for loss mitigation leads is the hardest approach to gather information from homeowners who are in default on their mortgages. Call centers take advantage of the increasing number of homeowners who wants to avoid foreclosure. Doing cold calls, asking for information and dealing with homeowners that are experiencing extreme stress due to their upcoming crisis is difficult for both parties. Some homeowners take it so hard to admit they are facing a big problem. Today, telemarketed loss mitigation leads are considered the best leads for they are considered sales-ready as soon as the agent acquired the right information and made them qualified with the clients requirements.

Gathering information about their mortgage history is not the only thing you have to consider in telemarketing. There are questions that you must ask the homeowner to make them fully qualified for the service.

First of all, before you throw tons of questions make sure that you are speaking with the right person. Talk to the person that has the power to make the final decision. You do not have to waste your time asking questions from other people even if they live together.

Secondly, the main reason why you have to talk to the decision maker is for you to know when he will make the decision. Set a time frame on when you can call him back for his answer. Make sure that you have him committed to one before you end the conversation.

Finally, after gathering the right information and considering him as qualified lead you can ask if other mitigation specialist have contacted him. Ask questions about their services and study on how you can provide better services than them. Learning from your mistakes and exceeding the services of competition will raise your business to a new level.

We all know that it is not easy to generate highly qualified loss mitigation leads. Although high in numbers, homeowners willing or committed to loan modification process is hard to get. If your potential lead could provide good answers from the questions above then you have yourself a quality loss mitigation lead acquired through telemarketing.

Mhel Garcia is an associate of http://www.callcominc.com - One of the fastest growing BPO company in the Philippines.

Even when there may be a small cause for celebration regarding the foreclosure crisis in Minnesota news came out that put a damper on things. Minnesota remained yet again among the lowest in the country in foreclosure rates, but still saw an almost 80% increase over last year. Whether this is a result of population density as compared to other states or not the increase seems to be proportional with what is happening in other areas.

Minnesota is no different from other states in regards to the primary reason for the current foreclosure crisis. Aggressive lenders using dubious loan practices are yet again the primary contributor to this problem. To their credit the Minnesota government took prompt, proactive and responsive action to this matter by passing over a hundred bills to deal directly with foreclosures and abuses in lending.

In other news Minnesota housing officials attending a summit in St. Paul earlier this year reported that the surge in foreclosures encompassing the state may be much higher, at least twice as high, than was previously reported. Projections for 2007 predict the rate of foreclosures to range from 1 in every 1000 households in rural counties up to 2 of every 200 households in some of the harder hit counties. One area being hardest hit, Northern Minneapolis, has taken a pounding with some 1,400 foreclosure auctions seen in the past year and a half.

Earlier in 2007 the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund and Housing Link project predicted 8,721 foreclosures over the course of 2007. Major fallout resulting from this is the number of abandoned properties across the state will adversely impact property values not just for homes near foreclosed properties but also entire neighborhoods.

Some Minnesota Foreclosure Facts

For a homeowner looking to stop foreclosure in Minnesota is might be prudent to have at least a passing understanding of the foreclosure process in that state. Non-judicial foreclosure is the primary method of foreclosure in Minnesota; however there are very stringent requirements for the notice and power of sale language in the legal documents.

The foreclosure timeline in Minnesota is typically 60 days from the time you miss your first payment until a Notice of Default or Notice of Sale is issued to your actual foreclosure date and sale. Minnesota borrowers have the right of redemption and are allowed deficiency judgments.

Lenders in Minnesota may also chose to go to court for what is known as a judicial foreclosure. This type of proceeding is where the court issues a final judgment on a foreclosure.

It is apparent that Minnesota has hardly escaped the growing foreclosure epidemic gripping the nation. Even with the state government's steps to help curb the crisis the fact remains that foreclosures are still on the rise and there appears to be little relief in site.

SaveMeFromForeClosure.com has earned its solid reputation by helping homeowners stop Minnesota mortgage foreclosure industry. Want to know how we can help you avoid foreclosure in Minnesota? Visit our website or call us at 1-888-472-8380 for a no-obligation consultation.

Thanks to the foreclosure crisis Americans are weathering, many simple junk hauling firms are being turned into full-fledged foreclosure cleanup companies. Because of a simple need by banks, realtors and other property owners - to clean foreclosure properties - these oftentimes 1-2 man firms are growing into larger, more lucrative businesses. For how and why, read on.

Clean Foreclosure Properties: A Lucrative Business Opportunity for Junk Haulers

If you own a junk hauling business in cities and states where foreclosures are high (eg, Florida, California, Denver), you're probably busier than ever before. And if you're not, it's because you either don't know how to capitalize on the foreclosure crisis, or don't want to.

Banks Need Contractors Like Junk Haulers to Clean Foreclosure Properties: Banks are not in the business of managing homes. They're in the business of lending money. The current foreclosure crisis though have forced many into some semblance of quasi property management firms.

Homeowners associations; individual homeowners; and/or city, state and local regulations all demand that abandoned properties (ie, foreclosures) be maintained. This means keeping the yard cut, replacing broken windows, winterizing a property, fixing leaks and any other damage that causes a property to become an eye sore.

One of the first things that need to be done to a foreclosed property is to remove anything left behind by previous residents. And, this is where contractors like junk haulers come in handy. They remove everything in order to help the bank get the property ready to go back on the market for sale.

As mentioned before, a bank's job is not property management, but lending money. So they try to get foreclosed properties back on the market and ready for sale -- either by a realtor or in a foreclosure auction -- as soon as possible.

Realtors Need Contractors Like Junk Haulers to Clean Foreclosure Properties: Companies that clean foreclosed properties come in and handle a lot of the work that goes into getting a property ready to go back on the market. This can range from fixing holes in the wall, to replacing carpet, to removing junk automobiles.

ATTN Junk Haulers: Make Money Selling Abandoned Valuables Online (eg, eBay)

A side benefit for those who clean foreclosure properties is getting the valuables left behind. Previous owners leave behind everything from electronics to appliances to clothing. Much of it is in good condition and can be sold online via sites like eBay.

There are laws governing this, but in general, if the owners don't show up to reclaim possessions after 30 days, the junk hauler is free to take and sell items. Anything sold is really like 100% profit.

"I'm a simple junk hauling company; how can I become a full-fledged foreclosure cleanup company?"

One of the first things you need to do is to become licensed, bonded and certified. Banks and realtors won't contract with you otherwise. After you do this, then it's a matter of marketing yourself in the right way, to the right people to start getting jobs.

For all the information you need on how to start a clean foreclosure properties business, log on to Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-business dot com.

May be reprinted with the following, in full: To learn how to clean foreclosure properties for a living log on to Start-a-Foreclosure-Cleanup-Business.com and get the 200 page ebook, How to Start a Foreclosure Cleanup Business, written by the owner of a leading foreclosure cleanup company in Atlanta, GA. View the CH 11 news video featuring the company here as well.

Now that the foreclosure crisis has taken the economic lives of hundreds of mortgage lenders, a handful of banks, and untold numbers of families, it makes sense to evaluate what has happened to engineer the events now taking place. With a central bank controlling the money supply and the nation enjoying issuing the reserve currency of the world, it is not difficult to analyze how the country has been set up to be sold off to the highest secret foreign corporate bidders.

When the internet and telecommunications bubbles were on their way up in the late 1990s, and in the middle of a decade of strong dollar policies coming from the Federal Reserve, US financial companies had great power over the investment flows between nations. With a little plotting, it was quite easy for speculators to remove capital from the Southeast Asian nations and collapse their currencies.

The next step was for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to offer these nations in deep economic shock some handy therapy, in the form of loans. In return, the nations had to agree to privatize many of their public services, closing down state-run plants and utilities and selling the assets on the open market. Multinational corporations then moved in to take over these assets and run them for profit at the expense of the people living in them.

With the strong dollar policy and the collapse of the foreign nations' currencies, the corporations could move in and buy the formerly state-owned assets for relatively cheaply. They took dollars near their peak value and invested them in the assets in other countries that were near their low value in terms of the value of the foreign currencies.

Then, while these foreign nations were starved for capital and could offer manufacturing and labor for cheap, most of the American manufacturing base was outsourced to these same countries. While trillions of dollars have been leaving the United States to these countries, the housing bubble is created to entice people into purchasing real estate they can not afford for long.

Creative new loans are designed and accepted by banks and investment companies to ensure that the bubble will collapse. The foreclosure crisis is engineered in two ways. First, the largest banks are financing the movement of assets overseas, thereby removing jobs from the economy and pushing workers into bankruptcy or foreclosure. The same banks that homeowners send their mortgage payments to every month are the ones giving loans to manufacturers to ship jobs overseas and downsize homeowners.

Second, even if some homeowners can keep hold of their current jobs, resetting interest rates will double their payments in a few short years. With the Federal Reserve in control of manipulating interest rates, it is quite easy to drive millions into foreclosure. The Fed began raising interest rates, which decreased home values and put the first cracks into the entire housing industry facade. People could not afford the mortgage payment, and negative equity positions ensured they could not sell.

Once rates were increased and the crisis became self-sustaining, they were taken down again, collapsing the value of the American currency, the dollar. Now, with the dollar at a low, the investments the corporations made in the Asian currencies are worth much more, even as the value of assets, real estate prices, and the stock market in the US are falling. Now, these corporations that made trillions of dollars investing in the assets of countries with collapsed currencies can take their profits and drive values down even further in America and buy assets for cheap.

With the collapse of the Government Sponsored Enterprises like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a steadily declining stock market, the entire country is ripe for the privatizing. As the federal government decides how much to reward the moral risk of making poor loans, corporations flush with appreciating foreign currencies are just waiting for the right moment to invest in such assets. They will be buying the country with the money they control, and using positions of power which allow them to collude into engineering these bubbles for their own profits and to increase their control.

Nick writes for the ForeclosureFish website and blog, which educate homeowners on how they can save their homes on their own while they still have time and resources available to them. The site describes various solutions to foreclosure, including mortgage modification, cash for keys, deed in lieu, stopping a sheriff sale, and more. Visit the site to read more about how the foreclosure process works and how it can be ended: http://www.foreclosurefish.com/

The news that 9% of homeowners with a mortgage are either late in their monthly payments or are in foreclosure seems to have been with a resounding silence by the media and the public. This is a record number and an indication that the collapse of the housing market is just hitting its stride, rather than finding a bottom or beginning to recover. But on the scale of financial disaster, the people have apparently decided that this news does not even rate.

Maybe there is no financial disaster meter any longer in the public mind because nearly all of this type of economic collapse news is filtered through our television culture. Nine percent of homeowners in foreclosure is so out of context that it is entirely meaningless for most of the news-watching population. They are unable to appreciate what this number means, because they have nothing similar to compare it to; only further irrelevant information and more sound bites.

Foreclosure rates way up. McCain picks woman as VP. A few words from our sponsors. Local murder. Obama says something about faith. A few more words from more of our sponsors. Cubs lose. Olympics ended. A few more words from our favorite corporations. Weather will be nice tomorrow after rain tonight. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailed out. CSI coming up next. Enjoy our Thursday night entertainment lineup.

What is the connection between any of that information? And why should people care about the foreclosure rates anymore than they care about the latest Pepsi advertisement or the fact that the Olympics have ended? Most people are simply watching the news to ensure they have repeatable sound bites for work the next morning if a semi-informed discussion accidentally takes place.

In fact, the way that our news media reports information, nothing is connected to anything else. All of the stories reported on television turn into nothing more than sound bites from a continuous stream of too much data presented as news entertainment.

And no one should care about the foreclosure rates when they are being sold cars with 0% financing every few minutes. Financial Armageddon is bad, but if it is presented as entertainment and punctuated with psychologically rewarding commercials, then it is meaningless at best and actually encouraging at worst.

In fact, the very medium of television is so insulting to the intelligence of the average human being that people simply lower themselves down to the level of the medium and discount any attempts at critical thinking or analysis. If every few sentences, I inserted a few kind words about Gateway Computers or Amazon.com, most people would stop reading, believing me to be hopelessly distracted or even schizophrenic. But this is exactly how television makes all news irrelevant.

People's ability to detect the collapse of our economy and financial system has been so deadened by years of having their intelligence lowered to the level of television that they probably will not care even if the system does collapse. As long as the Machine that delivers their ideas and entertainment does not stop, they will keep trusting in their unconnected distractions.

To find out more about the foreclosure process, visit the My Foreclosure Lender website, which provides services to borrowers trying to save their homes. Foreclosure loan and mortgage modification assistance can be found, as well as information on stopping a foreclosure before the sheriff sale. You can find the site on the web at the following: http://www.myforeclosurelender.com/