You are right—these are sad stories. Each person was “investing” as responsibly as they knew how. The complexities of investing, like completing contemporary income tax returns, are overwhelming to the minds of most Americans despite the necessity of facing those complexities to manage one’s money. You cannot prepare for retirement and not engage in investing.
I draw a link between this scandal and the popular discrediting of social conservatism. Decades ago, personal ethics and integrity were widely accepted virtues as part of our conservative American culture. Now, such ethics are not of much interest to people who reject the moralizing and religion-originated value systems that were once widely accepted.
I'd say that an attack was carried out on our social institutions decades ago. It's still going on, of course. Church attendance down, homosexuals emboldened, abortion up, feminists on the rampage. Socially, we were weakened.
And now it's time for attack number two. Our economic system is being crippled. Capitalism, in the eyes of many, has been discredited. Well, if we need to move away from capitalism, what other system should we choose? Hmmmmmmmm?
This was all mapped out before I was born. I firmly believe that.