With households' property debt surging, the use of adjustable-rate mortgages increasing, and interest rates rising, some observers have raised concerns about households' ability to service that debt. To gain a better idea of the distribution of property debt burdens and how it has changed over...

The recession that began in late 2007 severely reduced state tax revenue and increased demand for many public services. In the near term, institutional and political factors limit the options states have for cutting spending and raising taxes. Aid to states in the federal economic program is...