Thus the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.  And he said, “Amos, what do you see?”  And I said, “A basket of fruit.”  Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.” (Amos 8:1-2) 

The scripture continues with a recitation of how the ancient Israelites strayed from their God in pursuit of economic gain, in ways distressingly similar to recent financial practices and dealings.  In the wake of the 2008 recession, the poor and needy, those ashore and those at sea, are powerless, nearly forgotten and all but enslaved for a pair of sandals.