Reddit reviews Reckless Endangerment: How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
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Reckless Endangerment by Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua RosnerThe American Economy, Greed, CorruptionThe Downfall of the American Economy, Economic ArmageddonFannie Mae, Countrywide Financial, Goldman SachsThe Federal Reserve, HUD, The United States Congress
The people these fools will end up handcuffing: http://i.imgur.com/XVOV3.jpg
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http://vimeo.com/24981578
http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Endangerment-Outsized-Corruption-Armageddon/dp/0805091203
No, it is not.
From Wikipedia the factors that may have contributed are listed as follows:
Low interest rates encouraged mortgage lending.
Securitization. Many mortgages were bundled together and formed into new financial instruments called mortgage-backed securities, in a process known as securitization. These bundles could be sold as (ostensibly) low-risk securities partly because they were often backed by credit default swaps insurance.[9] Because mortgage lenders could pass these mortgages (and the associated risks) on in this way, they could and did adopt loose underwriting criteria (due in part to outdated and lax regulation).
Lax regulation allowed predatory lending in the private sector,[10][11] especially after the federal government overrode anti-predatory state laws in 2004.[12]
The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA),[13] a US federal law designed to help low- and moderate-income Americans get mortgage loans encouraged banks to grant mortgages to higher risk families.[14][15][16]
Mortgage guarantees. Many of the subprime (high risk) loans were bundled and sold, finally accruing to quasi-government agencies (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac).[17] The implicit guarantee by the US federal government created a moral hazard and contributed to a glut of risky lending.
So, of the five things listed, one - the Community Reinvestment Act - was actually a liberal plan to encourage home ownership amongst minorities. Another, the mortgage guarantees was the result of a Democratic bagman massively overstepping responsible lending. A good account of this can be found in this book which also extensively discusses the securitization issue and Democrats changing laws (specifically Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank) enabling the aforementioned securitization.
Of the items mentioned, only the federal government eliminating predatory lending laws could be attributed to "right-wing, small-government deregulation" and a very strong argument could be made that that one point is the least of everything on the list. Your broad strokes are a crock.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/hotproperty/archives/2008/02/clintons_drive.html
http://www.amazon.com/Reckless-Endangerment-Outsized-Corruption-Armageddon/dp/0805091203