They weren’t doom and gloom because everytime they slapped an AAA rating on a sub-prime backed CDO they stuck another check in their bank account. The whole financial system is a sham designed to take advantage of the regular joe schmo out there who doesn’t know where his pension money goes. This is just another example of it. A select few made BILLIONS of dollars on that backs of lazy fat stupid Americans (themselves to blame as well for buying homes they couldn’t afford). While those of us in the middle who didn’t buy into their shennanigans (sp??) sit on the sideline hoping (and praying) that the housing price crash really happens so that we can buy a home. Hopefully we’ll still have an economy and a job when it does.