Comparing the state of cosmology to the credit crunch through epistemology/methodology is a horribly idea.
'Mainstream' economists haven't got a clue what caused the current crisis exactly because they treat economics as an empirical science (or claim to do so in one or the other inconsitent way). It is not an empirical science. Economics is an a-prioristic deductive science whose propositions can be derived from contemplation. Economics is much like applied logic. Neither treating economics as a mathematical science with complex formula nor treating it as an empirical science in which the effects of creation of money ex nihilo must be empirically tested will yield a correct theory of economics. This is the reason why: economics deals with unpredictable human preferences that change over time. For this reason alone it is impossible to empirically establish economic laws. Physics assumes atoms will always behave the same in a given situation. Economics cannot do this for human prefences.
However, we can say that human action is always purposeful. Furthermore we can also say that someone who engages in an economic exchange expects to benefit from it in one way or another, otherwise he would not make the exchange. We know this is true and we do not need to test it with every exchange that takes place, just like we don't have to empirically test if every triangle has three corners or not. For this reason we can fully construct economic theory from a-priori axioms without ever needing to test our theory empirically.
Sadly, in over a century many schools of economic thought still have not understood this, causing governments worldwide to go unchallenged, or even supported by economists, in their blabant economic ignorance and outright destructive policies. (And this is where valid similarities with cosmology can be drawn, as many cosmologists still haven't learned about electricity.)
So while it might be a good idea to herald more empirical ways for cosmology, please don't do the same for economics.
(To those interested in more, I greatly recommend the work of Carl Menger, Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt, Friedrich Hayek and other disciples of the Austrian school of economics thought. You should experience no difficulty in finding their books, most of which can be read or collected in pdf-format free of charge on the
Ludwig von Mises Instutite (mises.org) website, including masterpieces as
Human Action,
Man, Economy & State,
Economics in One Lesson and a great deal of other books. On epistemological and methodological issues, you'll specifically want to search for the keyword
praxeology. You may also want to check their
Baillout Reader which explains the origin of the crisis and why throwing money in bottomless baillout pits is a baaaaaad idea.)