Good publication (PDF) at Demos-usa.org:

"House of Cards: Refinancing the American Dream"

Nothing much new in there, but a nice overview of the situation regarding Americans and our growing use of home equity to cover up all our "bad debts."

In the article, the "Personal Story" of Silvia and Gary Brown on page 10 makes me cringe. Why in the world does a late-40s-aged couple with a paid-off mortgage think the "right thing to do" is to refi their home, extracting $100k, in order to pay for their three kids' college educations?

Ask for trouble, Browns, and usually you'll find it.