Homebuilders want a federal handout. More accurately, another one. With tax deductions, down payment assistance, GSE financing, government promotion of “home ownership” and who knows what else, home building has to be the most heavily subsidized activity there is. Of course, that is why we are up to our necks in empty houses.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. home builders see no signs of improvement in the housing market after a disappointing start to the spring selling season, the National Association of Home Builders reported Thursday. After stabilizing at 20 the past three months, the NAHB/Wells Fargo home builders’ sentiment index fell back in May to 19, only one point above the record low of 18 set in December. Builders’ assessment of current sales have never been gloomier in the 23-year history of the survey, with the sales index falling to 17 in May from the previous record low of 18 in April. The sales climate is so bad that the builders say that only a federal subsidy for home buyers will turn the market around.