[quote=patientrenter]analyst, when I read your argument, what I see is, to paraphrase: “Those people over there guarding the gold at Fort Leavenworth left the door open. Other people are stealing the gold. Let’s blame the people who left the door open, and not assign any blame or responsibility on the people who stole the gold. Hell, they hardly even stole it, because whenever you see a door open, everything inside is yours for the taking.”

I’m sure it’s not how you see it. But it sure is very convenient to pretend that only the guardians of the gate are responsible, and those who take advantage of the unguarded gate are blameless.

By the way, TG, I think your writing style, and even just your style of arguing and dealing with others, is remarkable. I hope you’re being paid a lot for what you do at work. I know a lot of people in the industry I work in who appear less capable, and who are making over $500K/yr, or even over $1 mill/yr.[/quote]

Your analogy does not accurately describe the situation.

The borrower does not get any “gold”. Most of it went to the people from whom the borrower bought the home. The lender who arranged the deal took a portion of gold and kept it.

When the lenders were lending money for which they remained responsible, they were “guardians”. When they began selling their loans into clearly misrepresented mortgage-backed securities pools, they became active co-conspirators in a criminal enterprise designed to misappropriate a portion of investor “gold” by inducing the investors to participate in a Ponzi scheme.

Ultimately, the borrower also does not get to keep the home. I do not argue that they are blameless, only that they are minor players in the cause and cure of the problem, and that people are wasting their time and mental energy focusing on them, while the real cause and cure is not being properly addressed.