The Decade Leading to Disaster

This article regarding the steps to disintegration from the New York Times helped my understanding. The six steps lead to our current financial crisis include (in order since 1998):

1. Unregulated trade of derivatives
2. Allowance of too much bank leverage
3. Unbridled Sub-prime lending
4. Failure of government to intervene 1 year ago to limit foreclosures
5. Failure of government to bail out Lehman Brothers
6. Misappropriation of first $350 billion of bailout money - sent it to banks instead of applying it to specific needs.

I liked this article...let me know your thoughts

And so it begins with the bailout...

I read this article on the first round of bailout money. While this is a disappointment to hear that Arizona banks (one of the hardest hit real estate markets) were overlooked, it reminds me that we need to embrace tracking this information and participating in the legislative process to make our concerns known.