A new Congressional Budget Office report, "Fiscal Stress Faced by Local Governments," puts municipal bankruptcies into perspective and gives a snapshot of current fiscal trends. It reminds readers that of the 18,400 municipal bond issuers rated by Moody's Investors Service from 1970 to 2009, only 54 defaulted during that period, most of which were special districts that had issued debt to support housing or health care facilities. Only six cities, counties, or towns defaulted.

The CBO report also notes that there are 241,000 fewer local government employees in November 2010 than there were at the start of the recession in December 2007. Overall local governments have reduced spending in real terms by .6 percent in 2008 and by 1.9% in 2009.