University of Chicago economics professor Casey Mulligan, writing at the New York Times's Economix blog under the headline "Eurosclerosis Comes to America":
this recession has been unique in terms of the multitude of public policies that dull incentives to work and earn income. Best known are unemployment benefits, which are paid only to people who have not yet accepted a new job. But the mortgage modification programs, begun by the Bush administration and tweaked by the Obama administration, offer mortgage forgiveness to borrowers with low incomes while offering nothing to those with high incomes.
Link via Economic Policies for the 21st Century.