GFC Mark 2 effects

Last year I completed a survey on the effect of the GFC on myself and my family. At that time there had been little immediate effect. I was still working, my partner's business still operated and the rest of the family and friends seemed also relatively unaffected.
Lately, however, this is starting to change. While I am still employed and the partner still successfully running his business, others in the wider group are starting to suffer. Several workmates are now the sole providers of their households, with retrenchment of partners occurring suddenly.
Members of the wider family unit in England are also suffering from businesses going under and job loss. The imminent belt tightening in the English public sector will also have a flow on effect on companies who have used Government contracts to buffer the GFC effects up until now.
Closer to home, the more highly leveraged friends and family are feeling the pinch with several forced house sales occurring as banks call in out-of-control loans. Many of these are mature aged people who have lived well under the growth as usual scenario. It will be sobering to see how they cope with reduced circumstances particularly as Melbourne's housing bubble shows no sign of bursting.
However, I have also been amazed at how long our society continues to dance with debt. When will we have to pay these billions back and to whom? I run my household with a surplus, sometimes very small, sometimes a little larger.
Seeing the debt burden shift from private companies to the government means that we all will be paying for the profligacy of the few.