In all of the tumult, it's easy to forget that the root cause of all this mess -- now entering its fourth year -- continues to fester like an untreated wound. I'm talking about the U.S. housing market, which, by some measures, has fallen to new lows. After showing signs of hope late last year in the wake of the homebuyer tax credit, it's now suffering fresh setbacks and reaccelerating price declines.

Consumers, weighed down by rising inflationary pressure and lackluster job growth, are losing confidence. At the same time, tight lending standards and efforts to reform Wall Street and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are restricting access to mortgage credit. Right now, housing finance survives on government largesse: Government-backed entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now account for 95% of new mortgages.