The number of homes hit by foreclosure filings skyrocketed by 48 percent last month, compared to a year ago, with one out of every 483 U.S. households affected by the crisis. The Associated Press reports filings rose in all but ten states, with the most trouble seen in Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Michigan. As homeowners struggle, mortgage rates, inflation and the federal budget deficit have all shot up, the latter in part because of tax rebate checks intended to stimulate the economy.

Americans are uneasy about spiraling home foreclosure rates and in a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll (pdf) last month, 56 percent said the federal government should regulate Wall Street more aggressively to prevent problems such as the subprime mortgage crisis. As for the overall economy, a Gallup poll this month found 44 percent of participants rated economic conditions as "poor" and 86 percent said the economy is getting worse. Many Americans nonetheless are optimistic about the more distant future. In a Gallup/USA Today poll early this year, 66 percent thought it "very likely" or "somewhat likely" that the next generation would be better off than their parents - twice as many as said that was "somewhat unlikely" or "very unlikely."