By late 2008, Mike Petro had seen enough. It was, for many, the height of the financial mess in this country, marked by bank failures, mortgage crisis, and bailouts; in his view, the financial structure of the United States was teetering on the brink.

“Middle-class workers were taking out home equity loans to pay bills because they were maxed out on their credit cards; their 401(k) plans were shrinking,” Petro said.