The Pew Charitable Trusts

Banks paid states $25 billion for subprime mortgage lending, but similar private student lending practices might not yield the same result. more

This report answers major questions about who borrowers are demographically; how people borrow; how much they spend; why they use payday loans; what other options they have; and whether state regulations reduce borrowing or simply drive borrowers online.

A lack of government transparency and a focus on federal budget woes have masked state budget crisis, leaving them largely unaddressed, according to a report released Wednesday. Without major change, the report warns, soaring costs of Medicaid and shrinking tax collections will only worsen the problem. more

A recent draft paper by David Kimball, University of Missouri-Saint Louis, and Brady Baybeck, Wayne State University, found that, in the 2008 presidential election, large jurisdictions—those serving more than 50,000 voters—accounted for approximately two-thirds of the nation’s voters.