I had deliberately shied away from the politics behind this catastrophe in this post. It's a different can of worms! Perhaps you can write a separate post on that, I'll surely further the discussion.

It's obvious that free market capitalism is reaching its end. I think people realize that, which is why we see a strong movement towards progressive candidates around the world. Sanders in the US, Trudeau in Canada, Corbyn in the UK, Tsipras in Greece, in Spain etc. The Scandinavians, as usual, were way ahead of the curve. Of course, not all of them will (have) succeed in getting elected, but the movement is very clear. Sanders will never be President, but because of his efforts, someday someone like Elizabeth Warren will.

Wait, that's way off topic! But yes, it's the government's policies that have brought about this disaster.