Whenever anything goes wrong in view of the public, attention quickly moves to rooting out those who should be blamed for whatever it was that went wrong. Given the enormous and far-reaching magnitude of the housing bubble, and the credit crisis and recession it produced, naming and shaming those responsible has turned into something of a cottage industry. (Take a look at the factors that caused this market to flare up and burn out, check out The Fuel That Fed The Subprime Meltdown.)
While finding those to blame would be impossible and it does not resolve a crisis, it is nevertheless part of the catharsis and the recovery process. With that in mind, let us examine some of those who have drawn scrutiny for their roles in the crisis, as well as a few who may have unfairly escaped their share of blame.
1. Realtors
David Lereah, former chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, was an outspoken promoter of the investment virtues of housing throughout the bubble. Penning books with titles like "Why The Real Estate Boom Will Not Bust" (2006) and referring to housing skeptics as "Chicken Littles", Mr. Lereah dismissed the notion of a bubble and may have helped to stoke an already too-hot market.
To read the full piece, please go to:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0211/5-People-Blamed-For-The-Financial-Crisis.aspx
Note: I don't know why it's titled "5 People" when it was more than that...
Also want to thank my friend James Adams, author of Waffle Street, for his help with this article.
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