Barack Obama released details of his plan to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. The good news is I have yet to find a provision that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the principal amount due under a mortgage loan. Maybe that's been dumped ... or maybe it comes later and under the radar. As it stands now mortgage modification will occur only if borrowers provide their most recent tax return and two pay stubs, as well as an "affidavit of financial hardship." In the affidavit, they have to cite the reasons behind their financial woes, like losing a job or some drop in income. Oh and by the way, mortgages for single-family properties that are worth more than $729,750 are excluded from the program. The borrower will also have to show that they exhausted all remedies in personal negotiations with the lender before they will be allowed in the bankruptcy court. That great symbol of government education, Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, refers to this process as "going through all that mess."

We're told that the Obama administration's housing plan is intended to help 9 million struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure, but it leaves out tens of thousands of borrowers in the most battered housing markets who won't qualify because their homes have lost too much value.

The program detailed Wednesday offers refinanced mortgages or modified loans with lower monthly payments. The refinancing plan is limited to borrowers who owe up to 5 percent more than their home's current value. Loan modifications, supported by $75 billion in federal funding, are unlikely for severely "underwater" borrowers.

Amazing. I'm dumbstruck. There are provisions of this borrower bailout that actually making some sense here. And, yes .. I'll freely admit it when this administration does something even marginally right .. .but I don't expect to be kept busy with this task.

In the California cities of Stockton, Modesto and Merced, more than one out of every 10 homeowners with a mortgage won't qualify for any help because they owe more than 50 percent more than their house's current value, according to data from real-estate Web site Zillow.com. Fine .. turn these people into renters. Works for me. Time for some entrepreneur to go to these cities and build low-rent apartments. Oh, wait. Our country discourages entrepreneurship right now. Looks like Stockton, Modesto and Merced will become Section 8 havens.

The plan doesn't help homeowners in states "that are at the epicenter of the housing debacle," said Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com." Cry me a river.