Mortgage Deduction: The Lobbyists Strike Back

In his mission to lower the deficit, President Obama has proposed snipping high-income earners' tax deduction for mortgage interest payments. And yet, here he is, two years into his presidency, a truly scary unemployment rate not budging, and he has yet to meet with representatives of the nation's major home building association, the National Association of Home Builders. Home building, they say, creates jobs and adds taxes. Looks like the home builders and Realtors are going to the bunkers.

"We will oppose any limit," said Jerry Howard, chief executive of the National Association of Home Builders. "This is an attack on the middle class."