And, of course, they helped inspire the housing bubble by being the ready-made consumer of bundled (CRAP) mortgage securities.

If some pinhead tells you the reason the economy is in such a bad state is because there wasn't enouth government oversight or involvement in the financial and housing sectors (which are tied together, obiously), please explain to them what the term "moral hazard" means, and explain to them that the bad loans were inspired by government policies ranging from the Community Reinvestment Act to Redlining, to the very existence of the Federal Reserve, Savings insurance, and Fannie and Freddie. It's appalling that reporters don't actually see how clearly these government moves created this trouble.

Article! http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/business/22fannie.html?partner=rss&emc...

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