You open your article on housing and the economy in America by saying that there are two things everyone knows about American economic recoveries: first, housing traditionally leads the economy out of recession; and second, there is no chance of housing leading the present economy anywhere but deeper into the mire (“Rising from the Ruins,” November 5, 2011). Agreed, mostly because this recession is much deeper than it has traditionally been. But you continue by saying that America is now adding new households at a rate well below normal because “young people are opting to stay longer in their parents’ home.” Opting? You must be kidding. And you end up by saying that “thrift imposed by a sickly economy is probably the principal cause.” Probably? This is a most peculiar way of saying that the current recession, often dubbed the Great Recession, is edging toward another depression. As everyone knows, young people stay with their parents when, and only when, there is no way for them to form new households. And this is just another piece of evidence that America is facing more than a “traditional” recession. Indeed, it is high time for the mire to be called by its proper economic name.