For one thing, too many people are not content with a simple and adequate home. Greed and mammonistic priorities got the better of folks. One anecdotal WAMU case had a couple getting a $500,000 home loan. Both worked at McDonalds.
For another, the greed of the lenders for loan commissions led them to grant these loans, not looking out for the best interests of either the borrower or the bank.
Ethics ought to trump everything - after all, if we always did what was right we would not need law for we'd be a law unto ourselves. They should, but alas do not, and Plato knew this when he wrote his famous Republic. Fallen human nature is what it is.
While standing in line at the deli counter the other day, I overheard a couple of young ladies discussing finances. One commented about how her boyfriend drove around in a new truck for a year without making a payment until it got repossessed. The other was complaining about no longer being able to kite checks.
My thought at the time is that we are in for some rocky times..