If people had just a little more economic sense, they wouldn’t do this. But when you have 1/2 of Americans believing that “democratic socialism” is good, it spells disaster. If a bank wants to offer this, fine. The 2020 Presidential candidate slogan will be “equity line forgiveness”.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this campaign is unsuccessful (at least in my area - northern NJ); many here witnessed the wave of foreclosures coupled with job losses, and are terrified of debt/bankruptcy. Those who aren’t tied to mortgages are in no rush to do so, unless they have a lot of seniority in a government job (and therefore have a reasonable expectation of employment for life). Our property taxes are so high that adding anything to our monthly mortgage payments is unlikely.