Normally, I’d agree, but the government has created such an astounding crisis that there can’t be a normal recovery until much of the wreckage has been cleared. But that will take time, and people need a roof over their head and food to eat until then.
I would as soon as drop people on a desert island, with just the clothes on their backs, and tell them to succeed through entrepreneurism. You can only do so much by yourself, and so fast.
Your housing idea would end up being as unsuccessful as the push to lend to unqualified buyers. Once someone is in a subsidized house, you'll never be able to throw them out if they quit working. There are still Katrina refugees in travel trailers.