Is his head in the clouds or buried in the sand?

Interesting article today at CNBC - Paulson Slams Mortgage Relief Plans. Our Treasury Secretary said

... he expected it to continue to grow this year, although he noted problems in the housing market continue to pose the biggest downside risk.

He fingered subprime mortgages as the catalyst for turmoil in the capital markets, which he compared to "a dry forest out there waiting for a match."

Oh, I forgot the problem was just that small group of subprime borrowers.

Paulson also had strong words of discouragement for homeowners who may be mulling whether to simply walk away from a home that has slipped in value.

He said homeowners who could afford their mortgage should honor their obligations and that the Bush administration had no interest in bailing out housing speculators.

Yes, lecturing home owners and bagholders like 8-year-olds is really going to work. People did not have to invest anything - so most are doing better walking away than staying underwater. But a guess a stern lecture will change their minds and see the folly of their ways... Who is interested in helping the speculators?

Plans for sweeping federal programs that would aid troubled mortgage borrowers would bring unfair relief to speculators and reward investors who made bad bets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday.

I notice most of the fault discussed in this article is of the home-buyers. We can't aid the troubled mortgage borrowers - but who is he planning to help? The banks and the investment companies is my guess.