House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again

Though the banking crisis captured the public's attention, Mian and Sufi argue strongly that current policy is too heavily biased toward protecting banks and creditors. Increasing the flow of credit is disastrously counterproductive when the fundamental problem is too much debt. Excessive household debt leads to foreclosures, causing individuals to spend less and save more. Less spending means less demand for goods, followed by declines in production and huge job losses. How do we end such a cycle? With a direct attack on debt. A scandal in Bohemia -- Busted -- Debt and destruction -- Cutting back -- Levered losses: the theory -- Explaining unemployment -- Boil and bubble -- The credit expansion -- Conduit to disaster -- Debt and bubbles -- Stopping the cycle -- Save the banks, save the economy? -- Forgiveness -- Monetary and fiscal policy -- Sharing. Atif Mian and Amir Sufi. Includes bibliographical references (pages 191-207) and index.