Foreclosure: Everyone's Loss Abstract: While foreclosure has always affected market participants, in recent years it has slowly crumbled the economic infrastructure of the United States. While many government solutions have been attempted, including the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), they have failed in many respects due to a lack of transparency. Including transparency, many banks and lenders have taken part in foreclosures in America due to their inability to identify who is a prime and subprime lender. If there is no distinction, I fear that the average American may be given incorrectly calculated loans. Fixed rates and strict banking regulation have left even the most credit-worthy lenders out in the dust, leaving home sales at historic lows. Finally, it is important to observe how banks and credit institutions behave ethically because it seems that the ethical areas of business have become invisible when it comes to managing the real estate market. Despite these problems, however, I am optimistic that with the right solutions and leadership the real estate market can get back on its feet. There is no such thing as a free lunch: as the famous American economist Milton Friedman once said: “There is no such thing as a free lunch.” Despite this pessimistic view of Friedman there has always been evidence of generosity. As a child, for example, when one forgot lunch money there was always someone around to help: a friend, the lunch staff. No, however, let's say that for a particular child, forgetting his lunch money was a daily occurrence, people would most likely stop lending him money. Somehow, however, the child would not go hungry, most likely someone would start... middle of paper... Home. Financial Services Committee. Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunities. Financial Services Committee. Foreclosure Prevention and Intervention: The Importance of Loss Mitigation Strategies in Keeping Families in Their Homes: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunities of the Committee on Financial Services, United States House of Representatives, One Hundred and Tenth Congress , first session, November 30, 2007. By USGPO Washington DC: USGPO, 2007. Print.United States. Government Accountability Office. Risk-based capital [electronic resource]: Banking regulators must improve transparency and overcome obstacles to finalizing the proposed Basel II framework: report to congressional committees. By the Responsibility Office. Washington DC, 2007. Print.Zandi, Mark M. Financial Shock. New Jersey: FT, 2009. Print.