Total financial debt increased by 300% while households' incomes increased by 85% between 1996 and 2009. Debt outpaces income, debt becomes non-payable -- it's an old story. Household debt in 1996 = 65% of GDP, and in 2009 = 98%. Outstanding debt of domestic financial sector increased by 4 times (by 300%), from $4.5 trillion to $18 trillion, 1996 to 2009, 13 years -- from 56% of national income to 121%. (From Fed's FRED graphs.) Home equity loans increased from $104 billion in Jan 2000 to $611 billion in May 20, 2009. (See Fed's FRED graphs, Revolving Home Equity Loans.) These loans increased from 1% of "gross national income" to 4.2%. Total household debt increased from $7 trillion to $14 trillion. Personal Savings Rate dropped from 11% to 12% between 1960 to 1985, to fall to 4% in 2000 and 3% in 2009. Banks off-loaded loans to "securitized" "Collateralized Debt Obligations". This article is old history. The even sorrier part of the story is the 15 million jobs lost between 2008 and 2010, 8.75 million were permanent. The 5 million homes lost to foreclosure and default. And the slowest recovery in modern history. Still sorrier is the doubling of value of private household net worth between 2009 and 2018, an increase from $48 trillion to $96 trillion (an increase of 71% adjusting for inflation), mostly benefitting the wealthiest. The U.S. annual budget in 2018 spends $4.4 trillion in comparison to the $96 trillion in private savings. Federal debt increases from 64% of GDP in 2007 to 103% in 2017 (up $10 trillion, or an increase of 56%). The aftermath of the Financial Crisis is the explosion of net worth which enriching the wealthiest. The middle earners were hurt most, the wealthiest gained the most. This appears to be unjust -- those whose excesses caused the crisis are rewarded after the crisis. It's time to tax wealth. My blog is http://benL8.blogspot.com, Economics Without Greed.