John,
I would slightly disagree as to who is to blame for the economic mess we are in. The Talking Heads like to throw all the Blame on Wall Street, The Banks, and to some extent, the Brokers. Here we are talking about the Housing Mess and the resulting failures.

Now, back in 2004, my wife and I had a new house built. Now Paid off. No one from Wall Street, a bank, or Broker approached us and said, you need to buy a new house. Didn't happen. It was us that decided to have the house built. And that is how anyone that bought a house did it. I have a sister-in-law, my wife's sister that works in a bank and processed loans. At that time people didn't have to do anything to get a loan. The Banks were pressured by the Government to give the loans.

Now what bank do you think would give a loan if the person didn't qualify? Banks are closely regulated by the government who now relaxed those regulations so people that had no business getting a loan got a loan. And of course you see/saw the results.

It wasn't Wall Street, the Banks, or the Brokers that caused the problem. It was the people who bought houses they couldn't afford that caused the problem. But it is the Tax Payers that are left holding the bag. Now I understand the Regulations are tighter than a drum.

Last edited by Ray E. Strode; 10/06/11 12:07 AM.
Ray E. Strode