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All taxpayers should be concerned about the growing problems in the subprime lending business, even if their credit scores are perfect and they have lots of equity in their homes.

Q: I have read a lot of stories lately about the problems in the market for "subprime" mortgages. Can you explain the problem in plain English?

A: Generally, a subprime mortgage is a home loan made to a borrower with a below-average credit score, a very small down payment or both.

Many subprime loans started with a low rate, which made it easier to qualify for the loan. Their interest rates have since been adjusted sharply upward.

Foreclosures are rising fast, and some mortgage lenders already have filed for bankruptcy because many subprime borrowers can't make the higher monthly payments now that their rates have been raised.

Q: I have good credit and lots of equity in my home. Why should I care about the problems of subprime lenders and their customers?

A: Every American should care about the growing crisis, for a number of reasons. First, we're talking about people's lives here: Entire families soon could find themselves on the street if foreclosures continue and this nationwide problem isn't resolved soon. And even though you're fortunate enough not to be directly involved in this mess, your own property's value could drop quickly if foreclosures rise sharply in your area or many troubled borrowers suddenly put their homes on the market at fire-sale prices.

Then there are the lenders themselves. Tens of thousands of workers in the business already have lost their jobs, which in turn has slowed economic growth and made many housing markets even weaker. And if more lending institutions go bankrupt, every U.S. taxpayer could wind up footing the bill if Congress decides that a massive federal bailout is needed.

Q: What do you think Congress is going to do?

A: It's hard to say. Lobbyists on Capitol Hill tell me that a consensus seems to be building among Democrats and Republicans for a plan that would encourage subprime lenders to simply work harder with borrowers to save their homes from foreclosure.

For example, a lender who agrees to cut the rate on a subprime borrower's loan by a mere 1 or 2 percentage points - or simply refinance the loan into a 30- or 40-year fixed-rate mortgage - could bring the borrower's monthly payment down to a more affordable level and perhaps avoid the costly foreclosure process.

The bank would still make money from the loan (though at a lower rate), the borrower's family could remain in the home, and the rest of us taxpayers wouldn't be stuck paying for the bad loan decisions that some subprime lenders made or the problems that millions of their customers are now trying to endure.

Some lenders are already renegotiating mortgage contracts with their customers, so other borrowers who are having trouble making their payments should first contact their bank's customer-service department to see what type of help the lender will provide.

Those who instead depend on Congress to help are likely to lose their home to foreclosure, because it could take weeks or even months for lawmakers to resolve this spreading crisis.

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