The economic crash has made many unpleasant truths about the United States apparent. One of the most alarming, according to a former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, is that the financial industry has effectively captured the U.S. government.

If the IMF’s staff could speak freely to the U.S. government, it would say what it says to every country in such a situation: Recovery will fail unless the financial oligarchy blocking essential reform is broken. And if the U.S. is to avoid a true depression, time is running out.

The article from The Atlantic linked below details how the U.S. financial crisis is shockingly similar to problems more commonly associated with the third world -- and the harsh and necessary steps needed to get out of it.