The Canadian housing market is hot and there is no interest deduction. They didn't suffer from all of the bad lending as the banks in Canada (I think all 6 of them) knew better then to get involved in those ridiculous loans. In Canada, if you default on your home loan you don't get to walk away free as the banks go after your other assests to make up the difference.

Getting rid of the mortgage interest deduction will hit the middle class. Without it, most of us can't itemize other deductions. Housing and unemployment are the two main players in ecomomic recovery. It would not be a good time to run another knife into the already deflating housing market. That is unless Congress is ready to over haul the whole tax system and I can't see that happening.

Good luck on reducing Medicare and SS benefits. Anyone ever hear of the Baby Boomers, the largest block of voters? Perhaps congress can set the example and vote to reduce their high end benefits before going after us middle class folks.

I sense yet another commission report that will hit the shelves not too long after it is finalized. Politicians are short term thinkers and would prefer to put off and talk around problems that are not an imminent crisis.