Despite federal attempts to inject life into the stagnant housing market, California now leads the nation in foreclosure rate, overtaking Nevada as the frontrunner in the race to real estate bankruptcy. Since June 2011, foreclosures in California are up a full 18 percent.

The media is playing this little fact as proof that the government should do more. The Homeowner Bill of Rights passed by a Democratic legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown would have delayed the foreclosure process for thousands of Californians – but also would have kept California’s real estate prices from hitting their true bottom, just as President Obama’s inflationary policies have driven up the price of stocks artificially.

There will be more to come. The Homeowner Bill of Rights merely delays the inevitable; it doesn’t forestall it. And there are far too many California residents who are still trying to survive with mortgages they can’t afford.