A Failure of Capitalism
 The primary argument of the book is that we have gone from a recession into a depression (the "D" word, as one author calls it) The text is divided into a preface, a conclusion, and 11 chapters: # The Depression and its Proximate Causes # The Crisis in Banking # The Underlying Causes # Why a Depression Was Not Anticipated # The Government Responds # A Silver Lining? # What We Are Learning About Capitalism and Government # The Economics Profession Asleep at the Switch # Apportioning Blame # The Way Forward # The Future of Conservativism Some of the causes of the depression that Posner cites are the lack of enforceable usury laws, which would discourage risky loans, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and central banks taking risks, securitization of mortgages, illiquidity and insolvency of the banking system, the housing bubble, blindness to warning signs of a crisis, and the preconceptions of ideology. Posner wraps up the book with a chapter containing several suggestions, including eventual re-regulation of the banking industry, but warns that "this is not the time" to do so — a long-term solution after the economy recovers — that can "wait calmer days." He also suggests putting off reorganization of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve until a later time. In the meanwhile, he writes, "piecemeal reforms may be feasible and helpful." These include a halt on government marketing of home ownership, backloading of compensation, increasing marginal income tax rates on the highest incomes, and usury laws to discourage risky loans.