USA: Economy: like alchemical formula 'as below, so above' the rot at the top was reflected far down the wealth chain

Reuters offers a very fact-assertive and thawt-provoking news report on an aspect of the American economy at this point in its upheaval, and the onslawt of "depression"; the article is reported by Emily Kaiser and edited by David Dalgleish ("edited" here means Dalgleish removed something from Kaiser's article). "U.S. household wealth falls $11.2 trillion in 2008," (Kaiser, Mar12,2009):

Home mortgage debt fell at a 1.6 percent pace -- the third consecutive quarter of declines -- and consumer credit dropped at a 3.2 percent rate.

The build-up in household debt was one of the most striking elements of the five-year housing boom, which peaked in 2006. Consumers recorded double-digit annual increases in mortgage debt from 2001 through 2006, some of that in the form of cash-out refinancing that helped fuel strong spending.

Just how much rising wealth contributed to consumer spending is a subject of much debate but it is thought to be somewhere around 5 cents on the dollar. It is less clear how much households will cut back now that their wealth has been depleted.

Is this 'the unmasking of capitalism' that Goudszwaard 'radical Christians' are nowadays talking about?