Home foreclosures hit an all-time high for the first half of 2008 with 343,159 homes lost, up 136 percent from last year, according to CNN Money.

The ramifications of this current crisis have the ability to destroy the U.S. economy, homeowners cannot pay their loans and lenders cannot recoup their money. This mess arose from many variables, but at the heart of the problem is the stagnation of wages earned by the middle class – promoted by involvement in unfair trade policies like NAFTA and the WTO – and the government’s lack of regulatory measures to prevent lenders from offering lucrative sub-prime mortgages.

Source CNN Money:

RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, reported that lenders repossessed 71,563 homes in June. A year ago, just 26,369 homes were taken back. During the first six months of 2008, 343,159 Americans lost their homes, up 136% from 145,696 recorded during the same period in 2007. The report revealed that foreclosure filings of all types, including notices of default, notices of auction sales and bank repossessions, rose 53% from June 2007, to 252,363. For the first six months, total filings rose 56% to 1.4 million.