That was certainly a major part, but another key factor was that GWB's SEC, in April 2004, in effect let the Wall Street mega-investment houses self regulate. Theoretically, the 2004 agreement gave the SEC more power, but they had neither the resources nor the talent to do it (so many experienced regulators left the government to make bigger bucks on Wall Street). Bernie Madoff had been doing his thing since the days of Clinton, but I say it got a lot uglier after that 2004 SEC meeting.
You may say that investment houses should do whatever they want, but if so, I don't want to bail them out.
had it not been for the overused 'lesser of evils' and the retard algore...
sure, initially W was prolly 'better', but i really wonder what ole albore wouldve done post 911 ??? sometimes i think that a commie in the whitehouse wouldve been pressured to, and allowed/expected to have gone massive retaliation and war, rather than the nation building of the compassionate conservative...cough cough...