The children of the Middle Class have not been able to get jobs after graduating from college, so the economy will not recover. This is the group that gets married, buys a home, starts a family, and begins climbing the income ladder. With 25% of graduates unemployed or under employed, this growth has been crippled and the time lost for these earners is irreplaceable.
The scars from this Depression will last for decades; young people will not forget the foreclosed homes, lost jobs, and repossessed cars. People will be reluctant to do anything with assumptions of continued employment, and that is making itself clear with the lack of American children being born. People without kids don’t have any pressing need to commit to 30 years of mortgage payment; they won’t even commit to car payments (instead opting for shorter-term leases).