It’s being sold as an agreement on a relief plan, but the Republicans killed bankruptcy changes. You know the ones that would allow a primary home to be treated the same way as commercial property or vacation homes.

This is the single best part of any potential reform, for the following reasons:

• It makes the holder of the loan willing to negotiate in good faith about restructuring.
• It penalizes the bad actors more than others.
• It would help more people keep their homes than any other step.
• It does not involve taxpayers bailing the mortgage companies out.

Of course, it means that the fat cats experience some of the pain that they created, so it’s not acceptable to the Republicans.