I realize this may seem foolhardy, given the recent subprime-induced credit market turmoil and the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the federal-funds rate, suggesting that the broad economy has indeed been harmed. I've been saying for months that more trouble likely lies ahead and that mortgage woes will creep up the chain of credit worthiness to overextended but still affluent borrowers. August foreclosures jumped 36% from July, suggesting things are continuing to get worse.

Still, I have the distinct impression that when it comes to mortgage-backed securities, in many cases the baby has been thrown out with the bath water. Some Triple-A rated securities went overnight from being gilt-edged to something impossible to value because there was no market. True, there were plenty of excesses in lending practices, many only now coming to light. Bond-rating agencies may have been overgenerous with their Triple-A designations. But that doesn't mean all mortgages or all mortgage-backed securities are worthless.

This was on my mind this week as I wrote a check for the monthly maintenance on my apartment in New York. It's usually the first bill I pay. The mortgage payment is deducted automatically, a service that makes sure I never miss or am late with a payment. I take pride in making these payments.

I was raised to believe that home ownership is a linchpin of the American dream and that the mortgage payment which makes it possible is an almost sacred obligation. I'd give up just about anything else to make that payment. I know plenty of people who feel the same way. I see the financial statements of my building, and every resident is up to date on their monthly maintenance payments and, presumably, their mortgages.

This isn't a notion that's been showing up in recent stories about people failing to make their mortgage payments and facing foreclosure. With the exception of a small minority of speculators, for whom defaulting on a mortgage in a falling real estate market may be business as usual, I'm convinced that most of these people are trying desperately to make their payments and stay in their homes. When I wrote earlier this year about the Philemonds, a Boston area couple behind in their payments and threatened with foreclosure, I was impressed with their efforts to carve an apartment out of their two-family house and generate enough rent to resume the payments.

Mortgage defaults are not the equivalent of the savings-and-loan mess. During work on my book "Blood Sport," about the Whitewater affair, former Clinton backer and Arkansas S&L operator Jim McDougal (now deceased) told me how he'd squandered millions on Campobello, a resort in chilly New Brunswick, Canada, primarily because his hero, F.D.R., had vacationed there in the days before air travel made warm, sunny climes accessible to almost everyone. The development made little or no economic sense and no federal bailout would ever recoup the losses. By contrast, most residences have value, even if they have recently been sold at inflated prices. Over time they will appreciate. And the vast majority of borrowers will make their payments.

Apart from PIMCO, I know of several funds that are buying distressed mortgages. This takes extensive research and is labor-intensive, but seems far more efficient than a Congressional bailout. The approach seems likely to help ease the crisis, help struggling borrowers, and reward investors. Unfortunately, I haven't heard of any of these funds that are open to individual investors.

Amidst all the talk of Congressional bailouts and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, let's don't forget the millions of responsible homeowners and borrowers who are dutifully making their mortgage payments each month even if it means they have to give up an evening out or an expensive vacation. These are the hard-working, responsible people who make the American economy the greatest in the world, and I'd buy securities backed by their mortgages any day.