Hér er stórmerkileg grein um kreppuna úr tímaritinu The Atlantic. Höfundur er Simon Johnson, prófessor við MIT og fyrrverandi aðalhagfræðing Alþjóða gjaldeyrissjóðsins. Johnson segir að nauðsynlegt sé að brjóta á bak vald ólígarka sem hafi tekið yfir stjórn Bandaríkjanna.

Um ástandið í löndum þar sem efnahagskerfið hrynur eins og á Íslandi segir hann:

„Typically, these countries are in a desperate economic situation for one simple reason—the powerful elites within them overreached in good times and took too many risks. Emerging-market governments and their private-sector allies commonly form a tight-knit—and, most of the time, genteel—oligarchy, running the country rather like a profit-seeking company in which they are the controlling shareholders.“

Og:

„But inevitably, emerging-market oligarchs get carried away; they waste money and build massive business empires on a mountain of debt. Local banks, sometimes pressured by the government, become too willing to extend credit to the elite and to those who depend on them. Overborrowing always ends badly, whether for an individual, a company, or a country. Sooner or later, credit conditions become tighter and no one will lend you money on anything close to affordable terms.„