Mortgage lenders have received their share of grief for the country's housing and financial crises. Many blame the companies for passing out risky mortgage loans to borrowers who never should have qualified for mortgage financing in the first place.

Now mortgage companies are under new criticism that they haven't done enough to help struggling homeowners renegotiate their mortgage loans.

According to a story by the Associated Press, mortgage companies have only helped 15 percent of the homeowners elegible for a loan modification under the terms of the Obama Administration's $50-billion loan-modification program.

This, of course, isn't sitting well with the Obama Administration. The administration rightly views slashing the record levels of housing foreclosures as a key step in boosting the fortunes of the national economy. This won't happen if mortgage companies drag their feet on reworking existing mortgage loans.

Critics aren't happy that homeowners who may have been greedy, turning to risky loans so that they could get into homes they really couldn't afford, will be getting a break if their loans are modified. Maybe this isn't fair. But what's the alternative? Is it better to have the wave of foreclosures continue, dragging the rest of the economy down with it? Rememer, a foreclosed home generally sells for far less than do traditional real estate sales. This drags down average selling prices on all homes in a neighorhood.

At the same time, while some greedy homeowners will get helped, many others seeking loan modifications are struggling to pay their mortgages through no fault of their own. They may have lost their jobs. They may have suffered medical emergencies. They may be going through a painful divorce. All of these can dramatically, and quickly, change a homeowner's financial situation. How many of us could survive any of these disasters and still pay our mortgage bills?

It's time for mortgage companies, which helped cause so many of the country's current problems, to step up their loan-modification efforts. Such a step would be a key to easing the economic gloom still covering the country.