On the surface, that's a good idea since there's significantly fewer mortgages than actual tax payers. The hard part is identifying those mortgages to pay down and by how much.
Do we pay down only the out of control adjustable rate mortgages? Are the conventional loans NOT in foreclosure going to be paid down? And, what about that $30k income earner who rents and doesn't make enough to actually pay taxes but sees all this money going to only home owners? I don't think any of our representatives are prepared for that political recourse.
Your idea is great because it would send the money back to the lenders' deposits, help homeowners keep their houses, help other homeowners build wealth (that's where you'll see the political recourse from the non-achievers), help the economy, and increase property values due to a slowing supply in the form of foreclosures.
Go a few steps further. After paying down the mortgages, force the lenders to rewrite the terms as conventional loans. Implement a one time 90% tax against the CEO's and CFO's that would go directly back to the treasury. And of course, a % of the lenders' deposits after 2 or 3 years should be taxed year after year until the bailout amount is paid back + 20%.
Not sure what that last step would do to the cost of mortgages though. We'd probably see loan fees double.
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