Aliens are still transforming humans into hideous necromorphs (zombie-like creatures made from different body parts) and it is up to Isaac to save humanity from afateworsethan death.
Even worse, having worked for a former university professor, receiving your memos back with grammatical corrections when you were recommending policy advice is a career fateworsethan death.
But he did not cause the bust, and he deserves more credit than he is getting for steering America clear of a much worsefate, especially considering the constraints of a political system designed to make big changes difficult.