I don't want to get too political in this post, but I found a really funny and telling video that explains the credit crisis in layman's terms. Honestly, I think there is plenty of blame to go around.  There were people who were too dumb to realize they couldn't afford the mortgages they applied for. There were politicians that were trying to buy votes. This video highlights another group that has really bugged me recently: the lending industry. We've constantly heard about how they were forced to give out bad loans. This simply isn't the case. At some point, houses started gaining value so quickly that it stopped mattering whether somebody could pay the mortgage because the bank could always foreclose, sell the house and recoup their money. It was a risk-free investment, and they made alot of money. When that stopped working they suddenly tried to recast themselves as victims of the big bad goverment. On a personal note, I actually applied for a mortgage during the summer of 2005 and I was straight-up shocked at the amount of mortgage for which I qualified. When I added the monthly payments to the taxes, upkeep, etc, I decided that there was no way I could afford the mortgage that the bank felt no problem offering. Anyways, take a look at the youtube clip below and have your say.  The YouTube version embedded in this post is split into two parts. The full version can be seen at Crisisofcredit.com