According to WikiPedia, the Nixon Shock was a series of economic measures taken by President Nixon back in the 1970s. Follow the link and read the WikiPedia article. It isn’t hard to see that today’s financial troubles began decades ago by the government spending more than it had to spend.
Big Government: It Usually Just Doesn't Work, Federal Reserve, Govenrment Abuses, The National Debt, Thought Provoking