Foreclosure moratorium?

You make some valid points. Really. But I don't care any more. The banks have to be held accountable.

Let's examine your points:

Give homeowners that are already behind on their payments a free pass for the duration of the moratorium.  (And maybe encourage some that are struggling with payments to "take a breath" for a few months.) Sure, that could happen. I'm sure it already is. And I don't want to give that portion of the foreclosure population (a lot, but not all) a free pass. But those folks have already been gaming the system, figuring when their property was no longer salvageable that they'd just stop making payments. That's been going on for years. I'm not happy that it'll continue, but it's nothing new. And now there are bigger issues than some deadbeats who--sooner or later--will get their just desserts.

Prevent banks from acting when they know that the case for foreclosure is real and that all the i's are dotted and t's are crossed. It's becoming clear that more and more banks really don't know when "the case for foreclosure is real." It's becoming clear that banks don't even know who owns the loans and, thus, whether they even have the right to go after the homeowner in default.

Tell many (most?) prospective home buyers to pull out of the market for at least six months, because there will be a flood of "cheap" properties on the market at the end of the moratorium. If that's the case, then we really aren't hurting the equity sales at all. If the so-called prospective buyers are only pursuing foreclosures, then they had no interest to begin with in buying properties directly from the owner. Let the vultures wait. Yes, it'll affect the foreclosure market. And I'd add that the market's been terribly distorted already, and not just by foreclosures and short sales. How about the initial "first time homebuyer tax credit" that wasn't a tax credit at all, but a no-interest loan? And then the revised "first time homebuyer tax credit" that was a tax credit, but could also apply to long-time homeowners?

Tell many (most?) prospective home sellers to hurry up and get their houses on the market -- get them sold before that flood of cheap houses hits the market in a few months. Again, we've been living with severe market distortions for years. Besides, it's possible that for every prospective home seller who rushes to get a home on the market, there's another who'll hold off due to the uncertainty. In fact, I've seen plenty of speculation that the effect will be to dry up home sales, not unleash a flood. We can all worry about it, but there's no clear answer.

What is clear is that there are some terrible systemic problems in the entire mortgage and loan servicing industries. Those problems have to be fixed. We had fair warning a few years ago when the bubble burst. We ignored it. The SEC had a fair warning. Multiple warnings. They ignored them. Congress had the warnings. It ignored them. And the problem has only gotten worse.

You say the housing industry has to heal. I agree absolutely. You say it'll be uglier if we drag it out. Again, I agree absolutely. I say: Don't drag it out. Face the problem head-on now. And the problem is a system that has become totally corrupt. You say it may be politically expedient to call for a halt to foreclosures. I agree. That's what motivates politicians. My concern is that if we don't face the problem, it'll be swept back under the rug. In fact, I know that's what'll happen. So: Expose the problem. Drain the pus from the wound. Pour germicide on the wound. Just putting on another Band Aid is not the solution.