The global financial crisis began in 2007, and we are still feeling its effects. It has involved the collapse or near- collapse of large commercial banks, hugely expensive interventions by governments to guarantee deposits and buy bank assets, a steep decline in bank lending to individuals and businesses, significant falls in consumer activity, both domestic and international, with a resulting reduction in trade. Government indebtedness due to the crisis has resulted in diminished welfare states in Western Europe and a worsening of the position of the worst off in developed countries. In the United States, repossessions of properties rose very markedly after 2006, and members of both low and middle income groups have at times been very badly affected.