By guest host Jane Clayson

When President Bush unveiled his administration’s plan last week to help Americans — more than a million of them — struggling to pay subprime mortgages, critics immediately called it “too little, too late.”

In communities all across the country — from the inner city to well-heeled suburbs — foreclosures are rampant. And the worst of the subprime mortgage meltdown may be yet to come.

Just in time for the holidays: bankers versus American homeowners who only wanted a piece of the American dream.

This hour, On Point: the real human cost of the subprime mortgage debacle.

Guests:

Greg Ip, economics reporter for The Wall Street Journal

Eric Halperin, Washington director of the Center for Responsible Lending

Christopher Hudak, Housing Counseling Coordinator for the Boulder County Housing Authority

Mayor Douglas Palmer, mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors