Editor’s note: Like “Fast Food Nation,” I found this work to be like any other that looks for a sole source of a complex problem. That is, blaming sub-prime lending on the pawnshop and fringe lending industry is rather like blaming obesity on McDonald’s. Way over the top for me. But like “Fast Food Nation,” we need to be reminded of societal problems in an interesting way. Rivlin most certainly accomplishes that with this very readable book. Our foundation has invested heavily in eradicating payday lending in Ohio by providing an alternative via www.employeeloansolutions.com so we believe in Rivlin’s point. Our current investment is helping pilot an employer-based alternative to store-front lenders (which Ohio voters thought we had outlawed by state-wide referendum a few years ago) by offering safe, affordable and responsible loans to this same audience that comprises (by Rivlin’s estimates) a $100 billion industry in the USA.