This was a historical week. Besides marking the 25th anniversary of the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger – an event that itself marked the end of an era; this week’s headlines included Obama’s new rules/new economy State of the Union; Friday marked the first time in history that part of the Internet went dead as Egypt “unplugged itself” in a move to settle political unrest and finally…the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission delivered the results of its investigation into the causes of the financial and economic crisis.
Technology, politics and the economy seem to be unfolding into one.
First let’s point out, there is a lot of BLAME going on, starting with the 500-page FCIC document, or should I say docu-drama. The in-depth analysis covers how we got to where we are today as it relates to the financial crisis, foreclosure crisis and housing crisis.
As taken from the official FCIC press release:
The Commission concluded that the crisis was avoidable and was caused by:
- Widespread failures in financial regulation, including the Federal Reserve’s failure to stem the tide of toxic mortgages;
- Dramatic breakdowns in corporate governance including too many financial firms acting recklessly and taking on too much risk;
- An explosive mix of excessive borrowing and risk by households and Wall Street that put the financial system on a collision course with crisis;
- Key policy makers ill prepared for the crisis, lacking a full understanding of the financial system they oversaw;
- And systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels.
But let’s be clear on BLAME; the last person that should be blamed in this mess is the homeowner.
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