TAMPA, Florida - March 3, 2010 - The storm that has engulfed homeowners and the housing industry in recent years has taken a harsh toll on untold numbers of Floridians. Half of Tampa Bay homeowners are underwater on their mortgage. Foreclosure cases are clogging local courthouses.

WASHINGTON - March 2, 2010 - The Second Great Depression has left Amerikans depending on the government dole like never before.

Without record levels of welfare, unemployment and other government benefits as well as tax cuts last year, the income of U.S. households would have plunged by an astonishing $723 billion - more than four times the record $167 billion drop reported last month by the Commerce Department.

Moreover, for the first time since the Great Depression, Amerikans took more aid from the government than they paid in taxes.

WASHINGTON - March 1, 2010 - The United States must embrace a blend of tax increases and spending cuts to rein in its deficit or face a potentially crippling debt crisis like the one in Greece, a top U.S. lawmaker warned Monday.