An American dream: government gets out of housing

"This unlikely dream imagines the government out of the business of guaranteeing housing finance within 10 years. That should be long enough to phase out subsidies slowly, preventing the still fragile housing market from dropping further. It would give private-sector banks time to absorb an estimated $5 trillion of government-backed mortgages. And it would wean homeowners gently off the subsidized financing they’ve grown accustomed to. Just as importantly, though, 10 years is short enough to focus minds now."