By Daily Crux Editor Sean Goldsmith:

Housing has led us out of every economic slump for the past 50 years, which is why this recession could go on for a long time...

Obama's $275 billion pledge to improve home sales is floundering. Banks are unwilling to lend to buyers who won't live in the properties (those who could potentially flip them), and tighter lending standards across the board are stalling home sales. The recent rise in the cost of a mortgage to 5.42% has slowed new mortgage lending to a 13-year low. An inventory of 2.1 million unsold homes currently plagues the market.

In addition, the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and government-subsidized mortgages aren't working. "It hasn't been much more than a see-sawing of data," said Eric Belsky, executive director of Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies.

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